Chapter 4. What culture?

Abstract

Acculturation theory and research has examined the changes in cultural patterns that people undergo when they enter a new cultural milieu. Berry’s (2001, 2005) seminal model has been a very influential theoretical framework but several criticisms have been yielded over the years, one of which argues that the notion of culture within acculturation research is undertheorized. In our chapter, we examine how people who work for an NGO that looks after unescorted refugee children talk about the acculturation of refugee children. Participants often argued that refugee children should not adopt Greek cultural elements but supranational cultural norms and values. It is argued that this may be a form of liquid racism (Weaver 2011a), an ambivalent form of racism which on the one hand denies its racist undertones, while on the other hand may covertly promote assimilation. In our data, participants often argued for the maintenance of children’s culture, while on the other hand they constructed it as deficient, failing to match western European standards or not respecting women rights.