Lära sig bli invandrare

Globala och transnationella mönster i nationella former?

Abstract

In this article I discuss what categorisation does to people. More precisely, I discuss the Swedish concept of invandrare/invandrarbarn — immigrants/immigrant children. A highly heterogeneous group of people are often grouped together and categorised as immigrants/immigrant children. While they may not have much in common in terms of culture, they are categorised, described and treated as immigrants/immigrant children by Swedish society. Do these shared experiences create common perspectives on society and a common identity as invandrare/immigrants? If so — how do you express yourself as a "Swedish immigrant girl" and "Swedish immigrant boy" respectively? This, together with related questions, form the basis of an ongoing research project among young adults concerning discourses on integration and transnational experiences, with an analytic focus on the perceived differences that emerge in Sweden today.