1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910963205503321

Autore

Malyutina Darya

Titolo

Migrant Friendships in a Super-Diverse City : Russian-Speakers and their Social Relationships in London in the 21st Century / / Claire Dwyer, Darya Malyutina, Andreas Umland

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Hannover, : ibidem, 2015

ISBN

3-8382-6702-8

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (173 p.)

Collana

Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics and Society ; 148

Disciplina

941.0049171

Soggetti

London

Migration

Russians

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references.

Nota di contenuto

Contents; List of tables; Acknowledgements; Foreword; Introduction; Chapter 1 Limits of transnationalism; London: a super-diverse city; Russian-speaking migrants in London; Transnationalism: introducing a popular concept in migration studies; Who is a transmigrant?; Critique of transnationalism; Conclusions; Chapter 2 Ethnicity and social relationships; Ethnicity and migration; Social relationships amongst migrants; The nature of friendship; (post) Soviet friendship; Conclusions; Chapter 3 Localising friends; 'It just happens'; Looking for Russian-speakers; Expanding networks

Transnational friendships?Conclusions; Chapter 4 Choosing friends; Degrees of closeness; Constructing distances among Russian-speakers in the bar; Divisions within the community; Affective distancing; Conclusions; Chapter 5 Rethinking friends; Becoming cosmopolitan; Everyday diversity; Dynamics of change; Social contexts of cosmopolitanisation; 'Us' and 'Them': questioning the dichotomy; Ambiguous images of 'otherness'; Conclusions; Conclusion; Appendix 1: Data on research participants; Bibliography

Sommario/riassunto

This timely book offers an integrative and critical approach to the conceptualization of diversity of social ties in contemporary urban migrant populations. It explores the informal relationships of migrants



in London and how the construction and the dynamics of their social ties function as a part of urban sociality within the super?diversity of London. Based on the results of a qualitative study of Russian-speaking migrants, it targets the four main themes of transnationalism, ethnicity, cosmopolitanization, and friendship. Acknowledging the complexity of the ways in which contemporary migrants rely on social relationships, the author argues that this complexity cannot be fully grasped by theories of transnationalism or explanations of ethnic communities alone. Instead, one can gather a closer understanding of migrant sociality when adding the analysis of informal relationships in different locations and with different subjects. This book suggests that friendship should be seen as an important concept for all research on migrant social connections.

"Drawing on a range of innovative research methods, Migrant Sociality in a Super Diverse City presents an original and empirically compelling picture of the Russian-speaking diaspora in London. This book is a must for European migration scholars."-Dr. Alan Latham, Senior Lecturer, University College London

"This book offers fascinating insights into the experiences of a neglected migrant group in London while also providing careful analysis of the multicultural dynamics of a super-diverse city. Darya Malyutina has opened up a new strand of migration studies"-Dr. Claire Dwyer, Reader in Human Geography, Co-Director of the Migration Research Unit, University College London