The social practices of immigration: the everyday life of Brazilian immigrants in Denmark

Abstract

This research aimed to understand how the social practices of Brazilian immigrants in Denmark are organized in the composition of their everyday lives in response to the immigration laws of that country. We employ a practice-based approach using Michel de Certeau’s concept of practice, which considers that people can reinvent their everyday life through tactics and strategies embedded in their ways of doing things. In this context, we associate the matter of power apparatus, a concept worked by Michel Foucault, with the concept of propriety, worked by Pierre Mayol. The empirical research used ethnographic research for a period of approximately twelve months in Denmark through participant observation of the daily activities of Brazilian immigrants already established in the country and semi-structured interviews with 15 participants. As the main contributions of this research, we first highlight the theoretical contribution that the social practice of immigration occurs at different moments in the daily life of an immigrant, from their arrival in the host country to aging in the local society. Regarding the practical contributions of this study, it is important to consider that immigration practices are a phenomenon composed of tactics, strategies, and resistances organized based on the relationship between practitioners and apparatus, which can also be conveniently operated by propriety. Empirically, the study advances in the recognition and understanding of the organization of the community of Brazilian immigrants in Denmark.