Introduction
In the field of youth studies we have seen a growing emphasis on how young people respond to social changes associated with modernity and globalization, which, to varying degrees, contribute to both social cohesion and fragmentation. Theories of social change such as those of Beck (1992) and Giddens (1991) have long had a significant impact on the sociology of youth (Woodman, 2009). For both Giddens and Beck , “reflexivity is central to contemporary theorizing about ‘reflexive modernity’”, even if both define the term itself differently (Threadgold & Nilan, 2009, p. 47). There has been also been a theoretical revival of Mannheim’s (1952) theories on belonging to ‘generation’ which have been applied to analyses of young people’s identities in an era of global social changes (France & Roberts, 2015). This theorisation of ‘generation’ requires critical analysis at a time when young people are often disparagingly dismissed as ‘Generation Y’ or as ‘millennials’.1 Yet at the same time, social generational theory might be critiqued as theoretically limited when exploring young people’s identities and belongings (France & Roberts, 2015).
Of particular salience in more recent studies of belonging is the lived experience of youth responding to change in everyday multicultural societies in an increasingly globalised world (Butcher & Harris, 2010; Hamid, 2017; Habib & Ward, 2019). Young people2 today negotiate multiple and often contradictory discourses concerning the varied roles they are compelled to play in society, as they come to terms with the ‘politics of belonging’ where entitlement and status arguably play more of a role (Yuval-Davis, 2006). On the one hand, young people are depicted by political and media discourses as enabling “multicultural nation-building and social cohesion”, whilst on the other, they are paradoxically represented as “those most inclined towards regressive nationalism, fundamentalism and racism” (Butcher & Harris, 2010, p. 449). Furthermore, young people are often represented in the adult world as neglectful and dismissive of societal values, of the need for education, and of the importance of family (Livingstone & Sefton-Green, 2016). However, within these aforementioned depictions of youth, the relationship between place and a feeling of belonging seems to receive little attention.3 In this book we address this notable absence by assembling empirical research from established and emerging scholars to foster an international focus regarding how young people construct their identities as they negotiate a sense of belonging.
This collection draws upon interdisciplinary perspectives of space and place in order to investigate young people’s sense of identities and belongings in diverse international contexts. The book aims to enhance our understanding of how theories of belonging are employed in the study of youth identity as these global young people that the authors write about here come to belong at a local , national , global, and even virtual level. Habib has previously written about young people’s belonging “as a process of sense-making regarding discourses around place”, and about belonging as “multidimensional, an amalgamation of many different contributing factors” (Stahl & Habib, 2017, p. 15). Similarly, the authors in the collection illustrate how young people construct meaningful identities for themselves through their conceptions of belonging, and through their investment in peer cultures. Furthermore, we see how this process is heavily influenced by relationships with ‘territories’ and places.
Social scientists, like Giddens, have long written about ‘reflexive modernity’, explaining how previously fixed ideas about institutions like religion, the family, gender, and education have become increasingly unstable and fragmented in contemporary societies (Threadgold & Nilan, 2009). Through presenting empirical case studies, this collection considers the diversity of youth identities and experiences as they seek stability and belonging while the society that they inhabit continues to evolve at a fast pace. We come to understand belonging as the manner in which the practices, discourses and ethos of particular locales, spaces and institutions contribute to shaping the ‘ways of being’ for young people (Stahl & Habib, 2017). When considering ‘reflexivity’ , it is crucial to note the significance of class, for “being reflexive , and successfully negotiating future risks, both real and perceived, constitutes privileged cultural capital” (Threadgold & Nilan, 2009, p. 48). In theorizing the variety of ways in how young people belong, we see youth adapting and positioning themselves in fragmented and rapidly changing societies (cf. Clayton, 2011; Hopkins, 2010; Sanderson & Thomas, 2014). The content, scope, and organisation of Identities, Youth and Belonging: International Perspectives showcases recent research where the contributors evaluate approaches to how youth are theorized and what this means for our understanding of how they come to belong in diverse international contexts. Importantly, we are keen to share these authors’ contributions because of their emphasis on young people’s agency and young people’s voice. We follow the line of inquiry set forth by Coffey and Farrugia (2014, p. 461) that there is a need for research with young people to “facilitate or give voice to young people’s agency”; as they explain, this should be a key principle of youth research ethics , and moreover it is seen as “fundamental to any sociological explanation of young people’s lives” (ibid., p. 466).
Broadly, our collection draws on research in the urban, showcasing key sites and communities that play a role in young people’s lives as they negotiate their sense of agency and sense of identity within the contexts of the locale. In order to explore how belonging works, the authors present research from educational institutions, places of worship; virtual environments; the street and spaces of consumption. It has long been established that educational institutions can have a significant impact upon how young people form their identities, not just with regards to “socialization and intellectual development”, but importantly also “as places that create a sense of community and belongingness” (Smyth & McInerney, 2007, p. 59). With regards to young people and their relationship to religion, we find that youth studies can contribute to providing an understanding of the role of religion in the lives of newer generations globally.4 Virtual online communities are spaces where young people have gravitated, spaces where they not only develop skills in rapidly developing social media technologies, but also interestingly these spaces become potent sites of identity making (Livingstone & Sefton-Green, 2016; Perkins & Thorns, 2012; Saeed, 2017; Storer-Church, 2017). The significance of spaces for young people to belong in educational institutions is a common theme highlighted in many of the chapters in this book. The chapters concerned with school and university spaces raise questions about the subjectivities of young people in places where they might seek belonging, but sometimes struggle to belong. These educational institutions can be seen as microcosms for wider society where young people also negotiate the conflicts associated with (un) belonging to communities (Ward, this volume).
Some scholars in this edited collection theorise the nexus of youth identities and belongings as closely connected to artistic or religious spaces while others illustrate what it means for young people’s sense of belonging in reference to their experiences with transitions, displacements and mobilities. It is our hope that the reade...
