Paper short abstract:

The relationship between identity and space is the phenomenology of domestic spaces and home practice. Distinct practices and appearances constitute different religious, national or ethnic experiences formative for a child’s sense of self as well as concepts of nationalism, citizenship and belonging.

Paper long abstract:

This paper investigates the relationship between identity and space. I propose to see a connection between the feeling of identity and the particular phenomenology and childhood experience of distinct domestic spaces and practice in an urban Greek context. Mobility in space is constructed as practice, movement and embodiment. The argument is that the distinct phenomenology and practice of space constitute religious, national or ethnic experiences formative for a child's notion of identity. The paper is based on twelve months research in central Athens with a particular focus on children and childhood in the urban multicultural neighbourhood. Greek Muslims locally labelled as Turks, Albanians and Greek Orthodox mainly populated the area. I investigated children's views and concepts of nationalism as well as citizenship but also belonging and home in this area. Working mainly with children posed particular methodological challenges of ethnographic research and writing, which I will present. The analysis is theoretically inspired by French concepts of embodiment and habitus and the anthropology of children and childhood in England.