HuK Forum

This talk discusses responses to racialization and Othering from the growing number of people with a migratory background living in Czechia. Applying a novel epistemological and methodological approach, the “reverse sociology of migration,” which privileges the voices and perspectives of people with a migratory background, combined with a critical cultural sociological perspective centered on the meaning making processes of social actors, it will be explored how individuals negotiate their positioning in the society and how they incorporate, reproduce and transform racialized classifications. In other words, how do they face the unspoken question are they “people like us”? The study is situated in Czechia, a relatively new context of reception for immigrants, where anti-immigrant sentiments have been increasing rapidly in recent years. Using qualitative in-depth interviews among residents from different regions and countries the Middle East/North Africa, sub–Saharan Africa, Slovakia, Vietnam and Ukraine the study unpacks the different forms of racialization and Othering they experience, focusing primarily on the first two groups. It combines theories of cultural repertoires and symbolic boundaries to critically examine different grounds for boundary work that shape immigrant experiences with Othering and racialization in Czech society as well as their responses to it. It pays close attention to how they draw boundaries in relation to different Others both native born and immigrants and how they make sense of their position in the society they inhabit.