We are pleased to announce that Karlien Strijbosch, under supervision of Valentina Mazzucato and Ulrike Brunotte, has received a grant from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) funding programme. Karlien received the grant for her PhD research project: ‘Challenging masculinities: The institution of marriage for young Senegalese migrant men under conditions of involuntary return to Senegal’. Congratulations!
The project:
Title: Challenging masculinities: The institution of marriage for young Senegalese migrant men under conditions of involuntary return to Senegal
Supervisors: Valentina Mazzucato and Ulrike Brunotte
This project investigates the performance and narration of masculinities of involuntary returned Senegalese men and contributes to the study of changing gender relations and migration. In Senegal, masculine forms of honour depend on the ability to pay bride-wealth, marry and provide for one’s extended family. However, marriage, and thus becoming an ‘adult man’, is increasingly unobtainable due to the lack of economic opportunities. Migration can increase the social standing of men and be a solution to this ‘crisis of masculinity’. Yet, European migration governance focuses on returning unwanted migrants to their country of origin, with Senegalese men representing a large number of those returned. Little is known about the socio-cultural consequences of such returns. How do young Senegalese men navigate, perform and narrate their masculinities in a context of involuntary return migration? This understanding can lead to a better reintegration of migrants and highlight possible unintended consequences of European migration policies.
