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Orientalist Social Work: Cultural otherization of Muslim Immigrants in Sweden

Eliassi, Barzoo LU (2013) In Critical Social Work 14(1). p.33-47
Abstract
This aim of this article is to critically examine how the concept of culture is used in Sweden to explain the “failure” or the difficulties that Muslim immigrant families are experiencing with regards to their integration into the dominant society. Whereas, the Swedish society is often represented as ‘modern’, ‘progressive’, and ‘democratic’, immigrants with Muslim backgrounds are predominately described as ‘traditional’, ‘authoritarian’ and ‘pre-modern’. There is a widely held idea within Swedish social work research that immigrant families and the white mainstream Swedish society are situated within two different value systems with different world-views regarding family and gender relations. Due to this entrenched binary opposition,... (More)
This aim of this article is to critically examine how the concept of culture is used in Sweden to explain the “failure” or the difficulties that Muslim immigrant families are experiencing with regards to their integration into the dominant society. Whereas, the Swedish society is often represented as ‘modern’, ‘progressive’, and ‘democratic’, immigrants with Muslim backgrounds are predominately described as ‘traditional’, ‘authoritarian’ and ‘pre-modern’. There is a widely held idea within Swedish social work research that immigrant families and the white mainstream Swedish society are situated within two different value systems with different world-views regarding family and gender relations. Due to this entrenched binary opposition, Orientalism becomes constitutive to social work research and practices. (Less)
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author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Culture, Orientalism, otherization, immigration, integration, anti-racist social work, Sweden
in
Critical Social Work
volume
14
issue
1
pages
33 - 47
ISSN
1543-9372
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
ee7bcf45-b489-4309-93be-0d3c5a2ba98f (old id 4022237)
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 09:26:41
date last changed
2023-04-18 18:53:22
@article{ee7bcf45-b489-4309-93be-0d3c5a2ba98f,
  abstract     = {{This aim of this article is to critically examine how the concept of culture is used in Sweden to explain the “failure” or the difficulties that Muslim immigrant families are experiencing with regards to their integration into the dominant society. Whereas, the Swedish society is often represented as ‘modern’, ‘progressive’, and ‘democratic’, immigrants with Muslim backgrounds are predominately described as ‘traditional’, ‘authoritarian’ and ‘pre-modern’. There is a widely held idea within Swedish social work research that immigrant families and the white mainstream Swedish society are situated within two different value systems with different world-views regarding family and gender relations. Due to this entrenched binary opposition, Orientalism becomes constitutive to social work research and practices.}},
  author       = {{Eliassi, Barzoo}},
  issn         = {{1543-9372}},
  keywords     = {{Culture; Orientalism; otherization; immigration; integration; anti-racist social work; Sweden}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{33--47}},
  series       = {{Critical Social Work}},
  title        = {{Orientalist Social Work: Cultural otherization of Muslim Immigrants in Sweden}},
  volume       = {{14}},
  year         = {{2013}},
}