(Re)creating a Sense of Home: Framing Conceptual and Performative Domains of Home for International Migrants to Lund and Malmö, Sweden

Abstract: The study of home has historically been approached by numerous academic disciplines within the social sciences and humanities. However, increased international mobility and forced migration due to conflict in recent years has produced a renewed interest to understand the ways we conceptualize and (re)create home in foreign places. The present research aims to produce a theoretical framework that addresses the conceptual and performative domains of home for international migrants, informed in part by their lived experience in Lund/Malmö, Sweden. Building upon existing literature on home and migration, the thesis asks: What constituent elements need to be included to (re)create a sense of home? What practices of home do the migrants interviewed perform, and what role do they play in (re)creating home? When does the habitual place (of Lund/Malmö) become home? In-depth, semi-structured interviews which included an open-ended drawing exercise were conducted with twelve participants residing in Lund or Malmö. The analysis of the empirical data collected demonstrated the effectiveness of the framework to constitute a sense of home (as defined by the framework) in the habitual place for six out of seven participants who answered affirmatively to establishing “home”. Additionally, a relationship between the domains and the performance of home was confirmed for all participants, and their role in (re)creating a sense of home was deemed integral. The question of when the habitual place becomes home remains unanswered from data analysis. Further research is needed to confirm the usefulness of the theoretical framework to understand a sense of home for migrants in other settings. If additional findings hold consistent, platforms that facilitate collaboration between researchers on home and migration, and the architecture and planning fields are recommended to promote spaces and initiatives of cross-cultural sustainability within cities of immigration.