Crossing the Threshold: Identity, Integration and Multiculturalism in British and German Muslim Ethnic Minority Neighbourhoods

Sarah Hackett explores the idea of the neighbourhood as a site where citizenship is practiced and negotiated, with particular focus on historical developments and settlements in Newcastle, UK and Bremen, Germany. Whereas multiculturalism has been steadily 'downgraded' on the policy agenda both in the UK and other parts of Europe during the 2000s, social life at neighbourhood level is increasingly characterised by an everyday negotiation of categorical boundaries such as migration histories, religions, migrant statuses, and socio-economic disparities. This series will focus on emerging empirical research and methodologies that engage with such localised, intercultural processes. The presentations are based on findings from a range of different settings, including London, northern England, the Netherlands and Germany, and also focusing on new 'zones of encounter' that go beyond the traditional inner-city perspective.