Migrants’ adaptation through leisure.
Case studies: Polish migrants in UK and the U.S.
Anna Horolets
University of Gdaosk
[email protected]
Outline
Leisure – identity – migrants’ adaptation
[Migration from Poland]
Polish migrants’ leisure in (1) UK and (2) the U.S.
Migrants’ leisure: puzzles of adaptation
Why leisure?
Leisure is „the state of having time at one’s
disposal; time which one can spend as one
pleases; free or unoccupied time” (dictionary
definitions)
Two interrelated aspects of leisure:
-Structural limitations
-Individual freedom
Reference: Rojek 2010
Leisure and identity
Leisure can be seen as a “venue for making and
expressing identity” (Williams 2002: 353), i.e.:
-keeping/cultivating ethnic identities (esp. in ethnic
enclaves)
-trying out new identities
-creating hybrid identities that „fit in” or inform the
transnational mode of living
-venue of „emotional labor”
Reference: Williams 2002; Rojek 2010.
Leisure and adaptation
Social aspect: establishing contacts with
‘mainstream society’, e.g. through sport
activities
Cognitive aspect: gaining knowledge about its
daily routines and holidays, cultural
behaviours of its members
Affective aspect: developing a sense of
belonging
References: Liu Farrer 2004; Stodolska & Alexandris 2004; Stack & Iwasaki 2009
Case studies
Polish migrants’ leisure in UK and the U.S.
Migration from/to Poland
2011 Polish census: 38 501,000.00 inhabitants,
including:
1 940,000.00 (i.e. 5%) are abroad for 3 months and over at
the moment of census data collection (cf. 786,100.00 in
2002). Most emigrants were residing in the UK (30.2%),
Germany (21.6%), USA (11.4%), Ireland (6.5%) and the
Netherlands (4.6%).
~ 100,000 (i.e. 0.2%) are foreign citizens
Source: 2011 Census Data, Central Statistical Office, Poland
Polish citizens staying abroad for
longer than two months
(three months from 2007)
according to CSO data (in thousands)
2002
2005
2007
2009
786
1 450
2 270
1 870
EU27
451
1 170
1 860
1 570
Including
Germany
UK
Ireland
294
24
2
430
340
76
490
690
200
415
555
140
Total
Including
Source: Kaczmarczyk 2011
Project 1
Tourist and recreational mobility
of Polish post-accession migrants
to the West Midlands, UK
(2010-2011)
Fieldwork
2010-2011: Participant observation among
Polish post-2004 migrants to WestMidlands, the UK
In-depth interviews (38 int. with 41
participants aged 19-54; 21 male and 20
female); contacts maintained after 2011
Town/cities: Wolverhampton, Birmingham,
Dudley, Walsall, West Bromwich
Places: community centres, schools, ethnic
businesses, churches, parks, fairs, nature
trails etc.
Limitations & opportunities
• In the beginning I thought that the surroundings here
were extremely depressive, they seemed horrid to me. But
I would wake up on a Sunday and would not know what to
do with myself, I was longing for something, it was such a
stress. So I would just go out and just walk and walk so
that I reach some place, Sedgely for instance. […] Sundays
were the worst, I did not know anyone here, and I
sometimes just would get lost on purpose … and because
of the tiredness and because I would find my way
eventually I would be less stressed, and I gradually got
used to these surroundings.
[Female, 45 y.o., dentist]
Reference: Horolets 2014
Limitations & opportunities
If you’ll have free time, go to Kidderminster, to Safari Park.
What is it like?
It’s great. I take all my guests there, because I think… In Poland there is
only one… in Chorzów they said or something, but the one here…
Two hours drive by car among the animals, rhinos walk by your side.
You joking?
There are lions and tigers, there are some kind of goats and deer. A few
of each kind. You can drive there for two or two and a half hours
easily, you can stop, watch, make pictures and this is very nice. […]
Go there. Mind you, when you pay for the entry you get a ticket for
the next entry for free. […] This is a very nice place, and at the end
you can get a blanket, sandwiches, and make a picnic on a pretty
lawn.
[Female, 41 y.o., factory worker]
Reference: Horolets 2014
Project 2
Leisure participation and adaptation of
Polish immigrants
in urban and suburban neighborhoods of
Chicago metro
(2014)
Fieldwork
02-07.2014: Participant observation
among Polish immigrants in Chicago Met,
IL, the U.S.
In-depth interviews (68 interviews with
45 F and 30 M)
Urban districts: Portage Park, Bucktown,
Ukrainian Village, Dunning, etc.
Suburban districts: Palatine, Schiller
Park, Oak Park, Niles, Justice etc.
Places: museum, schools, ethnic
businesses, churches, clubs, etc.
Work&leisure
• For her hot yoga is a way to get the stress off,
after a couple of days of work where people are
sometimes mean with her, exercise in 120 F and
with weights make her soaked with sweat
(wychodzę mokra jak mysz kościelna (sic!)) and
allow her to restore her mental and psychological
balance. She said that when she did not have a
chance to exercise, she got depressive states.
[Female, 49 y.o., real estate agent, field notes]
(Trans)national leisure
• „…would you consider Poles forming a tennis
club a leisure of Polonia [an emic term for Polish
diasora, esp. in the U.S.]?”
• [a fragment of a longer discussion about what
determines „national” character of leisure: its
content (national symbols, national authors),
or its „form and texture”, e.g. who does it (like
Poles founding a tango dance club)]
[Male, 54 y.o., Polonia community leader, field notes]
Migrants’ leisure puzzles
• Leisure pursuits after migration
–
–
–
–
„old” vs. „new”
commercialised vs. non-commercial
„pathogenic” vs. „salutogenic”
balancing work vs. being part of work (also: serious
leisure)
• What are their possible consequences for
migrants’ life trajectories in receiving society?
• How can transnationalism interfere with each of
the above?
References:
• Horolets, A. (2014) Finding one’s way: recreational mobility of post-2004 Polish
migrants in West Midlands, UK, Leisure Studies, published on-line, DOI:
10.1080/02614367.2014.962590
• Kaczmarczyk, P. (2011) Recent Trends in International Migration in Poland. The
2010 SOPEMI Report. CMR Working Papers 51/109. Warszaw: University of
Warsaw.
• Liu Farrer, G. (2004) The Chinese Social Dance Party in Tokyo: Identity and Status in
an Immigrant Leisure Subculture, Journal of Contemporary Ethnography 33: 651673. Rojek, Chris. 2010. The Labour of Leisure. The Culture of Free Time, Sage.
• Stack, J.A.C. & Y. Iwasaki (2009) The role of leisure pursuits in adaptation processes
among Afghan refugees who have immigrated to Winnipeg, Canada, Leisure Studies
28(3): 239–259.
• Stodolska, M. & K. Alexandris (2004) The role of recreational sport in the
adaptation of first generation immigrants in the United States, Journal of Leisure
Research, 36, 379-413.
• Williams, D.R. (2002) Leisure Identitites, Globalization, and the Politics of Place,
Journal of Leisure Research 34(4): 351-367.
Handbook:
• Stodolska, M., Shinew, K.J., Floyd, M.F. & G.J. Walker (2014). Race, Ethnicity and
Leisure. Perspectives on Research, Theory and Practice. Champaign, IL: Human
Kinetics.
Thank you!
[email protected]