Saidani, Asma (2023) To Belong or Not To Belong: Ethnic, Religious and National Identities among second and third-generation Algerians in a Post-Colonial France. MA by research thesis, University of York.
Abstract
Discrimination and segregation continue to affect North-African groups, who are often negatively
portrayed as the 'other' and denied the opportunity to claim an ethnic and/or religious identity.
Current literature suggests that the topic of ethnic minority identifications and assimilation is more
developed in the US than in France. The lack of research is explained by the absence of official
censuses on ethnicity, race, and religion. The area of race, ethnicity, and religion remains somehow
taboo in the colour-blind France. Therefore, many areas remain overlooked and unexplored by
social scientists. Using a qualitative methodology, twenty semi-structured interviews were
conducted (ten with the second-generation and ten with the third), this research aims to explore
the ethnic, religious, and national identity of second and third-generation Algerians in France. The
research findings support that the Algerian identity in France is indivisible from the colonial past. It
unpacks identity mechanisms and strategies adopted by the participants to make sense of their
ethnic, religious and national identity in the French post-colonial, assimilationist, and colour-blind
context. Furthermore, this study discusses patterns of intergenerational identity negotiation,
including ethnic revival, reactivity, and reconciliation. Finally, this research challenges the notion of
straight-line assimilation for second and third-generation Algerians and supports the idea of
segmented assimilation instead. The study highlights the overlapping of exclusion based on
ethnicity, religion, social status, economics, and residential location, which has led to the
emergence of new identity trends among the second and third generations of Algerians.
Metadata
Supervisors: | McAvay, Haley |
---|---|
Keywords: | Ethnic Identity, Religious Identity, National Identity, Post-colonial France, Algerian Immigration |
Awarding institution: | University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Sociology (York) |
Depositing User: | Mrs Asma Saidani |
Date Deposited: | 15 Mar 2024 12:23 |
Last Modified: | 15 Mar 2024 12:23 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:etheses.whiterose.ac.uk:34460 |
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