Towards equality: joining forces with arts and culture in the struggle for change in migration societies

Abstract

There is a tendency in migration research to view artistic and cultural practices of immigrants and their descendants as well as the research of such practices as less relevant for our understanding of migration. This explains why it has long been a neglected area of research in the social sciences, as Marco Martiniello explains in his contribution to this volume. The present article argues that drawing such boundaries prevents us from seeing the joint aims not only of migration research in the social sciences and the humanities, but also of this research and the arts. It prevents us from seeing the potential of joining forces in our struggle for change towards more equal societies. The article explains how social science research and artistic and cultural practices can be regarded as two supplementary methods of struggling for equality that together have a greater chance of reaching this aim. Artistic and cultural practices contribute perspectives for changing community narratives to this process of change. These are essential for political and social change as they are championed in the social sciences.