Finding one´s place in the world: A phenomenological study of experiences of immigration to Sweden

Abstract: In times of globalization, cultural contact is a phenomenon that occurs on a daily basis. Immigration is a big contributor to the cultural contact. The phenomenon of immigration brings about many essential questions that can be hard to adjust to. The acculturation process itself is dependent of factors such as the contemporary societal climate as well as the active role of the immigrant. Questions concerning identities are very relevant when discussing immigration. In this study I am investigating the importance of the cultural contact as such, identity construction as a response to this contact as well as important elements belonging to the process. Using a phenomenological approach, the purpose was to study the subjective experiences of some of the people who have immigrated to Sweden. The study was conducted with self reports from 14 persons that were analyzed with the help from the computer software programs Sphinx lexica and MCA Minerva. The result unveiled distinct experiences of immigration connected to age when immigrating, encounters with Swedes and pre-migrate expectations. Common elements of importance to all participants were also found. Conclusions are that to immigrate is a subjective experience affected by the context, the pre-migrate, post-migrate, present and context of the future.