Place Attachment, Community Cohesion and the Politics of Belonging in European Cities

Devadason, Ranji

doi:10.1057/9780230302464_11

Cited by 1 publication

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“…The case of London is particularly interesting given its reputation as a cosmopolitan ‘global city’ that is often defined by its diversity (Sassen, 1991; Eade, 1997; Massey, 2007; Devadason, 2010). This data thereby enables the Localmultidem network to examine whether patterns of engagement in London resonate with those found in other European cities (see for example: Devadason, 2011). The London study comprises three main sources of data: an individual survey of 1200 residents from the selected ethnic minority groups – Caribbean, Bangladeshi and Indian – plus a white British sample; a survey of 47 minority voluntary organizations in the four selected North London boroughs: Camden, Hackney, Haringey and Islington; and analyses of public policies pertaining to minorities’ rights – in terms of access to the political community – at the local (London borough) and national level.…”

Section: Ethnic Social Capital: Stretching the Metaphormentioning

confidence: 98%

Metaphor, Social Capital and Sociological Imaginaries

Devadason

2011

The Sociological Review

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This paper considers the conceptual value of social capital, given its contested empirical and theoretical purchase. It addresses how the use of the metaphor of capital to represent sociable and normative aspects of everyday life affects our sociological imaginations. The rhetorical force of metaphor inheres in its creative capacity to transform understanding and bring about enriched apprehension of the social world. Moreover, in social science writing it is considered invaluable to processes of knowledge transfer and engagement with different audiences, thereby enhancing the impact of social research. Yet its capacity to inspire the imagination underpins both its usefulness and its limitations. Using a empirical example, this paper illustrates how metaphor can curtail as well as enrich understanding in research. I begin by examining how metaphor 'works' in acts of communication, in general, before addressing -secondly -how social capital is applied analytically to the specific empirical field of ethnic social ties. This example illustrates how certain avenues of enquiry are effectively 'closed down' by accentuating the salience of social ties to the relative neglect of the political opportunities, institutions and resources within which they are situated. The third part of the paper considers what the metaphor of social capital achieves and precludes in our sociological imaginations.

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Section: Ethnic Social Capital: Stretching the Metaphormentioning

confidence: 98%