'Why Do I Live Here?':Using Identity Mapping to Explore Embodied Experiences of Racialization

Populist national discourses position immigrant youth as a source of ‘concern’, requiring integration so that they can become acceptable citizens. The image of the unintegrated immigrant cut off from resources and the vitality of the national community looms large in the national imaginary (Dyrness & Abu El-Haj) . There is a proliferation of ‘talk about’ immigrant youth as potential enemies of the state or as sources of hope for an idealized democratic future. Common to all of these narratives is a talking about and over the voices of immigrant youth. In this article we aim to look into identity mapping as a productive method to include immigrant youth’s own voices, ideas and imaginaries. Populist national discourses position immigrant youth as a source of ‘concern’, requiring integration so that they can become acceptable citizens. The image of the unintegrated immigrant cut off from resources and the vitality of the national community looms large in the national imaginary (Dyrness & Abu El-Haj) . There is a proliferation of ‘talk about’ immigrant youth as potential enemies of the state or as sources of hope for an idealized democratic future. Common to all of these narratives is a talking about and over the voices of immigrant youth. In this article we aim to look into identity mapping as a productive method to include immigrant youth’s own voices, ideas and imaginaries.