EDMIDI 2008 student group projectEdith AndreesMarta BiernathTiina LikkiSuzanne MenhemNiamh Nestor

layers of visibility/invisibility social and physical space

Hypothesis: Double invisibility▪1) Invisible as migrants: excluded and invisible▪2) Invisible as sign holders

How do sign holders exist in relation to the surrounding space, both seen from the outside and in terms of their subjective meanings?

Process: narrative/construction/experience/objective/subjective

Exploratory Making the unfamiliar familiar & the

familiar unfamiliar Approaches: urban studies, architecture,

heritage and tourism studies, local history studies and geography

Theories of space and identity, the politics of space, space and (migrant) labour.

Influences: Lefebvre and Soja

qualitativeobservations, visual documentation,

expert interviews semi-structured interviews with the

sign holders (5) decision to leave out interviews with

restaurant owners Process

Residential historyFeelings about Dublin/people in

DublinWork as sign holder

2000 Planning and Development Act (Art. 152, 153, 154)

Roads and Traffic Section / Planning Enforcement Section

Street furniture”It’s a grey area.””We don’t want to know.””We ignore it.” Third layer: legal invisibility?

Sign holder Position Surroundings Movement Social interaction

Sign holder Position

Surroundings Movement Social interaction

Mauritius, 20s Residential and

work history Feelings about

Dublin/people in Dublin

Work as sign holder Typical day – “hidden”

work Feelings about work Future plans

Ricardo, 22 & Felipe, 25, BrazilResidential and work historyFeelings about Dublin/people in

DublinWork as sign holder

Through friends / CV Typical day Feelings about work Future plans

How do sign holders exist in relation to the surrounding space, both seen from the outside and in terms of their subjective meanings?

Economic space Social space Creative space Temporary space Physical space

TEMPORARY nature of the work: student job

IDENTITY: temporary nature of sign holding – not really identity relevant

Invisibility as migrants migrants in space not true migrants bureaucratically not true

Invisibility as sign holders Partially true “functional visibility”

Legal invisibility as sign holders Complex

Process: definition of terms

Existing preconceptionsDiffering conceptions of identity Importance of defining concepts

from the startFruitfulness of combining different

approaches and methodologies

Migrants and space Identity, intergroup relations and

racism among migrantsStudy of different ”migrant jobs”Research on student migrants”Hidden services”Code-switching