“If You Can’t Hear Me, I Will Show You”: Insurgent Claims to Public Space in a Marginalized Social Housing Neighborhood in France

Dijkema, Claske (2019). “If You Can’t Hear Me, I Will Show You”: Insurgent Claims to Public Space in a Marginalized Social Housing Neighborhood in France Space and Culture, 22(3), pp. 250-262. Sage 10.1177/1206331218794607

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This article is concerned with public space as a place of contestation, of confrontation, and insurgency. It situates these everyday forms of confrontation in France’s postcolonial history, arguing that the occupation of communal spaces by groups of youths should be understood as part of a larger conflict about the place that those called “of immigrant origin” can occupy in French society. The article seeks to explain why youths involved in the unsanctioned use of space rely on means that are widely interpreted as uncivil or violent in order to make themselves visible and to be heard. It argues that these claims to space may be interpreted as subaltern claims to citizenship. As second-class citizens, they lack “a place” in society, as subalterns their discourse is not heard, so they seek alternative ways to exist. The neighborhood proves to be an eminent place to be somewhere and someone.

Item Type:	Journal Article (Original Article)
Division/Institute:	School of Social Work > Institute for Social and Cultural Diversity School of Social Work
Name:	Dijkema, Claske0000-0001-7967-2691
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > G Geography (General) H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
ISSN:	1206-3312
Publisher:	Sage
Funders:	Organisations 0 not found.
Projects:	[UNSPECIFIED] Violence en ville, comprendre et agir. Analyse des conflits du quotidien dans l'espace public à Villeneuve, Grenoble
Language:	English
Submitter:	Claske Dijkema
Date Deposited:	16 Oct 2023 11:47
Last Modified:	16 Oct 2023 11:47
Publisher DOI:	10.1177/1206331218794607
Uncontrolled Keywords:	public space, youth, citizenship, postcolonial, conflict
ARBOR DOI:	10.24451/arbor.20130
URI:	https://arbor.bfh.ch/id/eprint/20130