Sienny Thio Global Studies Department of Social Sciences and Business Master Thesis, Spring 2019 SPISDATING AND MULTICULTURALISM How is multiculturalism contested through food practices and storytelling, as seen in SpisDating project? Project Title Spisdating and Multiculturalism: How is multiculturalism contested through food practices and storytelling, as seen in SpisDating project? Project Seminar Global Studies – Master’s Thesis Prepared By (Name/Student nr) Sienny Thio / 61665 Name of Supervisor Sune Haugbølle Submission Date 01/01/2019 Number of keystrokes incl. spaces 192,000 Permitted number of keystrokes incl. spaces 144,000 – 192,000 1 Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................................................. 4 Chapter 1: Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 5 Thesis Overview ............................................................................................................................................. 5 Research Question ......................................................................................................................................... 5 Introduction to Crossing Borders and SpisDating ......................................................................................... 6 Outline of Thesis Paper.................................................................................................................................. 7 Chapter 2: Theories and Methodology.............................................................................................................. 8 Theories and concepts ................................................................................................................................... 8 Civic multiculturalism and cosmopolitanism ............................................................................................. 9 Everyday nationalism and gastrodiplomacy ............................................................................................ 10 Methodology ............................................................................................................................................... 11 Positioning as a researcher: Ethnographic fieldwork .............................................................................. 11 Interview .................................................................................................................................................. 13 Narrative: “I tell my story, therefore I am” ............................................................................................. 15 Thematic Analysis .................................................................................................................................... 16 Chapter 3: Literature Review ........................................................................................................................... 17 The transformation of discourse in the Danish politics .............................................................................. 17 Towards more selective policies on migration and integration .................................................................. 19 Frikadeller as a Danish signifier and Muhammed cartoons as a symbol of freedom of speech ................. 20 Political correctness and Anti anti-racism ................................................................................................... 22 Chapter 4: Analysis .......................................................................................................................................... 25 The philosophy behind SpisDating .............................................................................................................. 26 Universality of food and stories .............................................................................................................. 26 Equality, diversity and social inclusion .................................................................................................... 27 The role of food as a medium...................................................................................................................... 28 Food as facilitator for dialogue and activism .......................................................................................... 29 Food and national identity ...................................................................................................................... 32 Learning aspect of SpisDating...................................................................................................................... 36 Reflective learning ................................................................................................................................... 36 Connectivity of networks: Towards social mobilization .......................................................................... 41 The state of multiculturalism: Multi-angular perspectives ......................................................................... 44 Limitations of SpisDating ............................................................................................................................. 53 2 Chapter 5: Discussion ...................................................................................................................................... 57 Chapter 6: Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 65 Bibliography ..................................................................................................................................................... 70 Appendix .......................................................................................................................................................... 74 Interview 1 ................................................................................................................................................... 74 Interview 2 ................................................................................................................................................... 84 Interview 3 ................................................................................................................................................... 94 Interview 4 ................................................................................................................................................... 99 Interview 5 ................................................................................................................................................. 106 Interview 6 ................................................................................................................................................. 111 Interview 7 ................................................................................................................................................. 120 Interview 8 ................................................................................................................................................. 126 Interview 9 ................................................................................................................................................. 135 Fieldnotes 1 ............................................................................................................................................... 142 Fieldnotes 2 ............................................................................................................................................... 145 Fieldnotes 3 ............................................................................................................................................... 149 3 Abstract Kultur i Danmark opfattes ofte som noget, der politisk relaterer sig til grænsekontrol og identifikator af selv- identitet, der oftest står i modsætning til integrationsprocesser. Med et stigende pres for at blive assimileret forsøger danskboende folk med udenlandskbaggrund at finde en vej mellem forventningen om at ’blive dansk’ og samtidig bevare deres egne kulturer for at opretholde traditionelle værdier og kulturel identitet. Blandt mediernes og politikernes opmærksomhed om emnet eksisterer mange ngo'er, der beskæftiger sig med sociale og kulturelle projekter - en af dem er Crossing Borders, som er vært for SpisDating-projektet, der forsøger at bygge bro mellem kulturer med henblik på fredelig sameksistens. Specialet undersøger, hvordan SpisDating benytter sig af madpraksis og historiefortælling for at imødekomme deres mål, og hvordan det påvirker eksistensen af multikulturalisme i Danmark. Med data fra faglitteratur, deltagende feltarbejde samt kvalitative interviews, undersøger specialet hvordan subkulturer og subsamfund trives i et land, der idealiserer homogenitet blandt borgerne. Stikord: Multikulturalisme, fødevarepraksis, historiefortælling, identitet, undersamfund, mangfoldighed. 4 Chapter 1: Introduction Thesis Overview Multiculturalism in Denmark has been discussed largely in the country at the political stage due to, among other reasons, high unemployment rate among migrants dating back to the 1970s (Bevelander and Taras, 2013). While it may seem like 1970 is a while ago, the discussion surrounding whether Denmark should or should not be a multicultural country