Older migrant women’s places of literacy practices–perspectives of an almost invisible population group

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to reveal the relevance of everyday contexts for the literacy of older women with a migration history and link them to concrete places in a local habitat such as the city of Hamburg in Germany. The theoretical background is a combination of New Literacy Studies and ageing theories. The article is based on a qualitative approach using narrative maps combined with problem-centred interviews. The findings show a decline in literacy, which is associated with a decline in local agency and institutionalised social contexts. Ambivalence is also evident, as women’s experiences of discrimination and alienation, as well as their satisfaction and agency, emerge. Three tension fields were identified that characterise the ambivalence: 1. between disengagement and activity, 2. between expansion and constriction and 3. between vulnerability and agency.