Browsing by Author "Tanyas, Bahar"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4

Citation Count: 13
Experiences of Otherness and Practices of Othering: Young Turkish Migrants in the UK
(Sage Publications Ltd, 2016) Tanyas, Bahar
The present study aims to explore the experiences of marginalization amongst young Turkish migrants in the UK. It pays particular attention to the ways in which marginalizing experiences and practices are reproduced, normalized and resisted across different ethnic/national contexts, namely, in encounters with the British/English majority, mainland Turks and other diaspora members. A narrative-based analysis of semi-structured interviews reveals that participants do not experience to be sharing an equal status with British/English majority despite their strong attachments to the UK, and that their experiences of otherness are also extended to their relationships with mainland Turks in Turkey and encounters in the diasporic community. However, Turkish migrant identity is not constructed as a fixed position, that of an inferior other. Rather depending on the net of power relationships characterizing the encounters, being of the Turkish minority also becomes a base for marginalizing others and is marginalized by participants themselves.
Citation Count: 1
Gendering migration narratives: a qualitative inquiry on language use and agency in adaptation stories
(Equinox Publishing Ltd, 2016) Tanyas, Bahar
The present study is an attempt to explore gendered construction of agency in and through personal narratives in the context of migration with a group of young Turks in the UK. Narratives relating the initial phase of migration were analysed via a systematic comparison regarding the construction of themes, the structure of narratives and performance in male and female migration stories. In men's narratives, protagonists' personal agency-their capacity to act on resources to adapt-appears to centre on their ability to distance themselves from vulnerabilities. However, preserving the protagonist from vulnerabilities to assign him an agentic position restricts the narrator's ability to tell varied stories. In young women's narratives, vulnerabilities are constructed as the main basis for their present identities and capabilities. Although this construction provides young women with a flexible position as a narrator and a protagonist, personal agency is constructed in a split manner.
Citation Count: 11
Making sense of migration: young Turks' experiences in the United Kingdom
(Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2012) Tanyas, Bahar
Until recently, children and young people's experiences of international migration and mobility have received minimal attention. Young migrants are either neglected in migration and childhood/youth studies or depicted in theoretically essentialist frameworks as model or problem ethnic minorities. This paper focuses on a neglected issue with respect to an invisible ethnic group in the British context by examining the subjective meanings of crossing borders among young Turkish migrants into Britain. This study's empirical component is based on semi-structured interviews with 12 participants (six male and six female) between 16 and 21 years old. A narrative-based qualitative method was used to analyse interview transcripts, and particular attention is given to the content of participants' stories. The following three themes were chosen to re-present these young people's experiences on moving to the UK: the process of decision-making, initial experiences in the UK and family relationships after migration. The findings are discussed with reference to the relevant literature, policy-making and possible means of supporting young migrants.
Citation Count: 5
Protest Participation and Identity-Related Dilemmas: A Qualitative Inquiry Into the 2013 Gezi Park Protests
(Amer Psychological Assoc, 2019) Tanyas, Bahar
The present study is an exploration of marginalized social identities in the context of social movements. Data have been drawn from a larger project on youth political participation in the 2013 Gezi protests in Turkey. The study's aim was to understand the ways in which individuals with subordinated minority identities negotiate participation in a heterogeneous social movement in which they are required to act together with majority identity groups. A Labovian analysis of 3 particular cases illustrating hesitations and discomfort about acting together with perceived oppressors in the protests is presented. Each case focuses on disadvantaged social identities, preexisting social hierarchies, and difficulties in welcoming a collective identity shared with other protesters. The analysis indicates that when protest participation requires individual protesters to act together with identity groups that do not recognize their identity as equal in social hierarchies, certain identity threats and dilemmas about participation in the movement emerge. The presence of similar others (i.e., other minority-disadvantaged members of the society), the possibility of developing a supraidentity over preexisting hierarchies and a strong investment in group efficacy appear to be significant in dealing with these dilemmas. A discussion with reference to larger societal dynamics, intersectionality, and narrative analysis is presented.