Universität zu Köln

Sgorsaly, Lena (2023). African migrants and places of consumption. (Auto-)ethnographic insights into Dubai's informal economy. Bachelor thesis, Universität zu Köln.

PDF KEB_Heft64_Sgorsaly.pdf - Published Version Download (33MB)

Abstract

In the face of the European Union’s relentless efforts to limit and control migration from the Global South, alternative destinations have gained currency. Among them are the countries of the Arab Gulf region, which stand out for their continuous demand for foreign labour. At the heart of the study of Lena Sgorsaly is the question of the opportunities and challenges that these destinations offer to migrants from Africa. The thesis of Lena Sgorsaly was supervised by Prof. Dr. Michaela Pelican and Dr. Jonathan Ngeh, and was realized in the context of the research project “Communication during and after Covid-19”, funded by the Volkswagen Foundation (https://socialinequalities.uni-koeln.de/projects/special-project-communication-duringand-after-covid-19). The study builds on three months of fieldwork in Dubai, conducted in spring 2022, and integrates inductive, qualitative and auto-ethnographic approaches. Sgorsaly’s thesis zooms in on East African migrants in Dubai and their strategies to straddle the city’s thriving informal and formal economy during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. It looks at different places of consumption, both formal and informal, and explores why and how African migrants navigate the risks and uncertainties of working outside the formal economy. The study's strength is the author’s access to migrants' dayto-day lived experiences in informal spaces, which is often not accessible for research. This allowed Sgorsaly to generate comprehensive and nuanced data that contributed to a better understanding of informality in the city. Sgorsaly fuses a rich, in-depth ethnography of African migrants' participation in Dubai’s informal economy with reflections on her experiences and interpretation of her data. Focusing on “places of comfort and consumption” (private homes serving bars) in low-income migrant residential areas in Dubai’s old city centre, the study provides a vivid account of informality in the housing and hospitality industry, street vending, commercial sex, and freelance shipping. Adding to the rich ethnography are the author's reflections on her positionality and relationship with the study participants.

Item Type:	Thesis (Bachelor thesis)
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Sgorsaly, Lena UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-731626
Series Name at the University of Cologne:	Kölner ethnologische Beiträge
Volume:	64
Date:	2023
Place of Publication:	Köln
ISSN:	1611-4531
Language:	English
Faculty:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities
Divisions:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Fächergruppe 4: Außereuropäische Sprachen, Kulturen und Gesellschaften > Institut für Ethnologie
Subjects:	Customs, etiquette, folklore
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language Dubai, Migranten, informelle Wirtschaft, Bachelorarbeit German Dubai, migrants, informal economy, BA thesis English
Date of oral exam:	2023
Referee:	Name Academic Title Pelican, Michaela Prof. Dr. Ngeh, Jonathan Dr.
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/73162