Research Gert Verschraegen

Abstract

This policy-oriented scientific research generates new human biomonitoring data and data from environmental measurements to examine to what extent and how adolescents in Flanders are exposed to environmental pressure and what this exposure does to the body. The study design is interdisciplinary. All Flemish universities, VITO, PIH and INBO contribute; VITO is the research coordinator. In this configuration, CRESC takes the lead of the social sciences aspects, including the research of socio-stratification in participation rates and study results, of risk perception, risk communication and stakeholder involvement in the study.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Bergmans Anne
• Co-promoter: Bervoets Lieven
• Co-promoter: Covaci Adrian
• Co-promoter: Crabbé Ann
• Co-promoter: Groffen Thimo
• Co-promoter: Vandermoere Frederic
• Co-promoter: Verschraegen Gert

Research team(s)

• Centre for Research on Environmental and Social Change

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Death is a universal experience. Yet how a society deals with dead bodies, and how it bids farewell to the deceased is dictated by cultural values and religion and belief systems, as well as by juridical possibilities, knowledge of environmental impact and shared knowledge about public health hazards. A range of factors is directly relevant to how contemporary societies such as Belgium plan and provide for the deceased, such as the consideration of an ageing population, a pluralistic society, limited land availability for traditional cemeteries, and a sustainable framework for much of our society's social practices. Making the funeral industry responsive to contemporary needs is a continuing challenge worldwide. The Covid-19 pandemic has made the task more urgent. In 2020 and 2021 funeral undertakers in Belgium were confronted with unseen challenges. It sharpened their sense of a need for a better social, juridical and ethical embedding of funeral practices in Belgium. Their sense of urgency corresponds with global developments studied in the fields of law, environmental ethics, cultural sociology and public health science. Awaiting the result of the resubmission of the SBO-proposal in 2022 it will be useful to prepare the comprehensive interdisciplinary research by focusing on 1) the sociological reality and 2) the philosophical motivation driving this research. Therefore two lines of inquiry will be carried out from December 1 2022 onwards: 1) a focus group study with stakeholders (funeral undertakers, citizens belonging to religious minorities, citizens preferring a non-standard funeral method for moral-existential 3 reasons, representatives of governmental bodies) and 2) a philosophical inquiry into the moralexistential reasons for non-standard funeral methods like humusation, resomation and natural burials. The hypothesis is that ecofeminist theory and indigenous philosophies on the interdependence of humans and their natural environment will help to construct a conceptual framework to think about the moral significance of funeral choices.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Schaubroeck Katrien
• Co-promoter: Lenaerts Silvia
• Co-promoter: Van de Velde Sarah
• Co-promoter: Vansweevelt Thierry
• Co-promoter: Verschraegen Gert

Research team(s)

• Center for Ethics

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Current environmental problems force us to rethink notions of citizenship and specifically the role of citizens in addressing these issues. While scholarly debate often attempts to conceptualize sustainable citizenship (SC), there is less literature which examines empirically how social groups envision their role in addressing environmental issues. I aim to study sustainable citizenship from a bottom-up perspective by placing the social actor at the center of the analysis. A mixed methods research design will be used to examine how different social groups actively construct (or craft) sustainable citizenship. In contrast to most studies, I will apply a cultural lens to examine the cultural repertoires people employ to deal with environmental issues. By defining cultural repertoires both as cognitive frames and action scripts, this concepts provides an excellent framework to examine the multiple, inconsistent patterns that are part of crafting sustainable citizenship. This project uses a mixed-method research design to answer the research question: 'How do various social groups craft sustainable citizenship through the use of cultural repertoires?' Quantitative methods will examine and compare how different social groups relate to SC based on data of the Eurobarometer 95.1 (2021). Qualitative methods, based on reflexive diaries and semi-structured interviews, search for nuanced explanations of the quantitative findings.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Vandermoere Frederic
• Co-promoter: Verbist Gerlinde
• Co-promoter: Verschraegen Gert
• Fellow: Dallenes Hanne

Research team(s)

• Centre for Research on Environmental and Social Change

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project proposes a comparative, ethnographic study of ethnic boundary work in two Flemish superdiverse city-contexts: Antwerp and Ghent. By ethnic boundary work we mean that actors use ethnic categories to distinguish between in- and out-groups ('us' and 'them'). The study aims to shed light on the dynamics of group-formation and ethnic division in superdiverse contexts and is informed by somewhat contradictory findings in the literature. On the one hand, people in superdiverse cities are said to seldom use ethnic categories and hardly problematize ethno-cultural differences. On the other hand, studies suggest that a significant number of citizens consider diversity as problematic. To understand how and why ethnicity matters in certain contexts but not in others, we seek to (A) focus our comparison on two Flemish cities, specific neighborhoods and lived spaces (as opposed to the more common focus on comparing nation-states) (B) study and compare both how people talk about differences between groups and how they behave in relation to inter-group contacts; (C) make explicit the relationship between symbolic categorization and structural inequalities people face in these contexts; (D) take into account the intersectional, dynamic relationship between ethnicity and other characteristics (e.g.. gender, age, social status) used to divide people into hierarchical categories. All steps contribute to the final goal (E) developing a comparative analytic of symbolic boundary work.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Verschraegen Gert

Research team(s)

• Centre for Research on Environmental and Social Change

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

In this research, we aim to better understand the experiences of the people and organizations involved in (de)conversion processes in a Flemish context. We will address the following research questions: 1) What are the (positive and negative) experiences in (de)conversion processes of religious affiliations and how did these experiences evolve during this process? 2) Which barriers and facilitating factors do people experience before, during and after these (de)conversion processes? 3) What are the needs of the people involved during these processes on a psychological, social and existential level? 4) Which information channels do data subjects use to support such (de)conversion processes? 5) Are there differences between the experiences during (de)conversion processes according to the religious or ideological tradition from which one distances himself? 6) Which organizations currently support (de)conversion processes and how can their functioning be facilitated or strengthened? We will answer these research questions on the basis of qualitative interviews and expert committees.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Van Praag Lore
• Co-promoter: Loobuyck Patrick
• Co-promoter: Verschraegen Gert

Research team(s)

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The central aim of this research is to examine how children with diverse backgrounds construct personal and collective identities in the super-diverse city of Antwerp. How do children describe their differential identities? How do they develop (or not) a sense of belonging in a society that to a large extent seems to reproduce inequalities between different groups? How do these senses of belonging affect their well-being and aspirations? To answer these questions, and to highlight the hardly heard experiences of children themselves, I aim to conduct a qualitative longitudinal analysis of children's identity formation during the age of eleven and thirteen. Employing a cultural-sociological approach - inspired by, among others, Bourdieu's work - I will track the heterogeneous group of children during their transition from primary to secondary education. Three rounds of in-depth interviews and class observations will be held over this period of more than two years. In addition, I will conduct interviews with parents and focus groups with teachers and peers, in order to gain insight into their stimulating or restricting role in the children's differential identity formation.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Verschraegen Gert
• Co-promoter: Clycq Noel
• Fellow: Kostet Imane

Research team(s)

• Centre for Research on Environmental and Social Change

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Most European states allow refugees to access a facilitated procedure to reunify with their family members. Many studies, however, high-light how issues of timing, documentation and economic resources often make family reunions extremely difficult, if not impossible. If much has been written on the obstacles faced migrants in this regard, little is known about the specific case of refugees. Through a multi-sited ethnographic study with refugees and their families, this project aims to reconstruct the complexity of power-relations, social expectations and structural impediments that impact on refugees' right to family life.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Verschraegen Gert
• Fellow: Belloni Milena

Research team(s)

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The current research aims to apply a comparative approach to the study of migration trajectories of people coming from Morocco, DR Congo, Somalia and Syria and now residing in Belgium. The central aim is to examine how environmental changes relate to and indirectly or directly impact the migration trajectories of the distinct migrant groups, living in Belgium. Environmental change is intertwined with other migration reasons, such as economic and political reasons, but there is still too little research into how this actually works. There is relatively little overlap between environmental studies relating migration and migration studies. Hardly any research has been done on the best methodological approach to study environmental migration. Finally, this research aims to explore in which way existing models and theories of migration aspirations and dynamics can be adopted to develop a theoretical framework and conceptual model on environmental migration and aims to fill in the different gaps in existing literature. The objectives of this research are challenging and innovative as they aim to examine the best conceptual and methodological approach to study environmentally induced migration aspirations that considers both environmental changes and prevailing migration dynamics. In doing so, respondents' perspectives on the ways in which environmental factors interplay and influence other migration reasons throughout their (fragmented) migration trajectories will be examined.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Verschraegen Gert
• Co-promoter: Van Praag Lore
• Fellow: Ou-Salah Loubna

Research team(s)

• Centre for Research on Environmental and Social Change

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The theme of the sharp and the blurry is fundamental for the act of looking / observing. This fact is crucial in higher art education, my sculptural work, the arts and society. The phantom statute of the unsharp, it's relationship to our memories, it's intimate character and openness for interpretation is what attracts me in the blurry. I will first investigate the meaning of the blurry and the sharp within photography, and will then look as a sculptor how the sharp and unsharp relate to sculpture. In this is how I hope to develop a well-founded personal vision about 'the blurry' or the unsharp. In this project, I search for the presence of the unsharp in authentic photographs in my family albums of the 1970s and 1980s. I will create new photographs through the act of enlarging and cutting. Cosyness, mystery, intimacy, tactility and abstraction will be dominant themes in these new photos. Based on these new images, I want to create tactile sculptures and installations that are characterized by blurriness. How do sharpness-unsharpness relate to the memory that takes shape through visual media such as family albums? What is the role of focus and blurring in sculpture versus photography? And what is the impact of this effect on our memories? How does sharpness – unsharpness relate to the tactile space and how does 'being embodied' in a tactile environment relate to the sculptural? How does this relate to other media? These are just a few research questions that I will deal with.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Verschraegen Gert

Research team(s)

• Centre for Research on Environmental and Social Change

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The central aim of this research is to examine how children with diverse backgrounds construct personal and collective identities in the super-diverse city of Antwerp. How do children describe their differential identities? How do they develop (or not) a sense of belonging in a society that to a large extent seems to reproduce inequalities between different groups? How do these senses of belonging affect their well-being and aspirations? To answer these questions, and to highlight the hardly heard experiences of children themselves, I aim to conduct a qualitative longitudinal analysis of children's identity formation during the age of eleven and thirteen. Employing a cultural-sociological approach - inspired by, among others, Bourdieu's work - I will track the heterogeneous group of children during their transition from primary to secondary education. Three rounds of in-depth interviews and class observations will be held over this period of more than two years. In addition, I will conduct interviews with parents and focus groups with teachers and peers, in order to gain insight into their stimulating or restricting role in the children's differential identity formation.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Verschraegen Gert
• Co-promoter: Clycq Noel
• Fellow: Kostet Imane

Research team(s)

• Centre for Research on Environmental and Social Change

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

In the past years, Belgium, like the rest of Europe, experienced an exceptionally high influx of asylum seekers and refugees. This sudden influx poses special challenges for both the host community and the refugees. A large proportion of the refugees initially end up in "arrival districts" in large cities with a superdiverse population, where all kinds of economic, religious and ethnic fault lines run straight through each other (Geldof 2015, Oosterlynck et al 2016, Saunders 2010). The incoming refugees themselves also include a particularly diverse group of people with higher and lower educational levels, religious communities (from Shiites to Evangelical Christians) and ethnicities (Kurds and Arabs in Syria, Pashtun and Tajik in Afghanistan and Tigrinya and Tiger in Eritrea). While many refugees first land in large cities, there are more and more who, sometimes only after some time, end up in smaller municipalities. The question that arises is how these refugees look at living together with Belgians and people of other nationalities? Do they feel at home in the big city or in the small municipality, and do they seek contact with Belgians? Do they consider the city or the municipality as their new home, or as a temporary stop where they ended up without much choice? How do their first contacts with Belgians, other newcomers and second generation migrants go, and how do these contacts change over time? What role do networks play in building language learning, access to community life, education and the labor market? What tensions do they experience between the standards and values ​​of their host country and those of their country of origin? How do these tensions change over time? What consequences does this have for the place where they want to live? Are there differences between living together in the big city and in small municipalities? And finally: what implications does this have for the different facets of the local and Flemish integration policy (integration, language, housing, education, work)? We propose to study these questions on the basis of three aspects of living together in diversity, which focus on the specific situation of refugees: the development of social networks, symbolic border work (identity) and spatial experiences.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Verschraegen Gert
• Co-promoter: Vandevoordt Robin

Research team(s)

• Centre for Research on Environmental and Social Change
• Centre on Inequality, Poverty, Social Exclusion and the City

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

From the summer of 2015 onwards, Europe has encountered a refugee crisis which has fed into a wide range of controversies, ranging from acute humanitarian needs to the alleged security threats posed by refugees. Citizens have responded to these controversies in diverse ways, some turning into amateur humanitarian aid workers overnight, others taking political engagements by protesting and manifesting against the arrival of asylum seekers in their neighbourhood. This research project aims to explore how and to which extent these controversies have fueled new moral and political ideas on 'our' precise responsibilities towards 'strangers'. To do so we examine the rise and development of civil movements that emerged in response to three types of specific refugee controversies: a) citizens helping refugees, in spite of the absence of major NGOs or national governments (e.g. Dunkirk and Calais); b) citizens protesting against the arrival of refugees (e.g. by the establishment of new asylum centers); and c) confrontational controversies where both supportive and protesting citizens encounter one another (e.g. Greek Islands where many refugees arrive). To examine these cases, we rely upon a multi-sited, qualitative research design using methods such as in-depth interviews and participant observations, so as to explore citizens' beliefs, motivations and actions in considerable depth.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Verschraegen Gert

Research team(s)

• Centre on Inequality, Poverty, Social Exclusion and the City
• Centre for Research on Environmental and Social Change

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Cities around the world are diversifying in a rapid pace and a metropolitan city such as Antwerp is no exception to this trend. Against the background of the ongoing refugee crisis, international conflict in the Middle-East and jihadi-Salafist terrorism, many Flemish natives currently perceive the growing presence of Muslims as a fundamental threat to our society. The latter is imagined as a secular, or at least 'inherently' non-Islamic society. However, Muslims are often a marginal voice in these public debates and insights on how Muslim identities are (re-)negotiated in such a 'hostile' context are scarce. Some research has indicated that the hostility towards Muslims is growing, while, at the same time, the religious identity of many Muslims is becoming more important and tends to be represented as a crucial emblem of their identity. Many Muslims, however, rather denounce the essentializing processes placed upon them by many Flemish natives, which tend to perceive and categorize Muslims solely based upon this religious affiliation. It is this conundrum the current research proposal wants to tackle: how is ethno-religious identity of Muslims in Flanders made and unmade in the everyday interaction between individuals, as well as in the broader public debate? The proposed project aims to further analyse this apparent conundrum by putting forward the hypothesis that a growing religious self-identification among Muslims is related to the deteriorating public image of Islam and Muslim identity. To gain insights in these often unconscious and difficult to grasp processes of boundary and identity work, we designed a multiphase mixed methods design in three distinct sequences. Furthermore, we study these processes in nine different settings: four secondary schools, one tertiary education setting and four labour market settings to get fine-grained insight both on the individual as well as on the institutional level (socio-demographic composition of the specific context and open or conservative approach to diversity). The innovative methodological framework engages with these issues via three strategies: we start with a broad survey analysis to construct specific profiles of respondents that are used to deepen our understanding in two subsequent phases. First respondents with specific profiles are asked to participate in individual in-depth interviews facilitated by the Photo Q Methodology as to study boundary work from the perspective of the individual. In a final stage individuals are asked to participate in 'confrontational' focus group discussions to study boundary and identity work in a real life resembling interactional context as to study how boundaries are reworked when confronted with significant others.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Verschraegen Gert
• Co-promoter: Clycq Noel
• Fellow: Driezen Ariadne

Research team(s)

• Centre for Research on Environmental and Social Change
• Centre on Inequality, Poverty, Social Exclusion and the City

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This research project examines the social construction of moral and political responsibilities towards refugees. It thereby focusses on how different social actors, such as refugee organisations, policy makers and the media, compete with one another in defining and evaluating the claims of refugees.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Verschraegen Gert
• Co-promoter: Timmerman Christiane
• Fellow: Vandevoordt Robin

Research team(s)

• Centre on Inequality, Poverty, Social Exclusion and the City
• Centre for Research on Environmental and Social Change

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This is a fundamental research project financed by the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO). The project was subsidized after selection by the FWO-expert panel. The objective of the FWO's Research projects is to advance fundamental scientific research.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Verschraegen Gert

Research team(s)

• Centre on Inequality, Poverty, Social Exclusion and the City
• Centre for Research on Environmental and Social Change

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The central hypothesis of this project is that socio-economic, socio-demographic, ethnic and cultural diversity can positively affect social cohesion, economic performance and social mobility of individuals and groups. A better social cohesion, higher economic performance and increased chances for social mobility will make European cities more liveable and more competitive. In this period of long-term economic downturn (or sometimes even crisis) and increasing competition from countries elsewhere in the world (e.g. China, India), it is important to find out how and under which circumstances European's urban diversity can be turned into social and economic advantages.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Oosterlynck Stijn
• Co-promoter: Dierckx Danielle
• Co-promoter: Verschraegen Gert

Research team(s)

• Centre for Research on Environmental and Social Change
• Centre on Inequality, Poverty, Social Exclusion and the City

Project website

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This research proposal seeks to investigate the social construction of moral status through the discursive use of cultural variables such as gender, age, faith, and ethnicity. It thus deals with core social processes such as social exclusion, as well as the cultural construction of moral meaning and status.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Verschraegen Gert
• Co-promoter: Timmerman Christiane
• Fellow: Vandevoordt Robin

Research team(s)

• Centre on Inequality, Poverty, Social Exclusion and the City
• Centre for Research on Environmental and Social Change

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This research proposal takes as its starting points: (a) the long standstill in poverty reduction, especially for people of working age, (b) the complementarity between employment, economic growth and social inclusion that is focal in the EU 2020 strategy, and, (c) the emergence of socially innovative policies and actions in the margins of the European welfare states. It aims at the evaluation of the Lisbon decade in terms of policies and actions against poverty at European, national and sub-national level and at improving the understanding of the interrelationships between employment, social protection and social inclusion and between institutionalised macro level social policies and innovative local action.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Oosterlynck Stijn
• Co-promoter: Verschraegen Gert

Research team(s)

• Centre for Research on Environmental and Social Change
• Centre on Inequality, Poverty, Social Exclusion and the City

Project type(s)

• Research Project