Children of Intermarriage: Exploring the Integration of the “Hidden” Second Generation

Zeit: 
14.05.2019 - 17:15 bis 18:45
Ort: 
A 5,6 Raum A 231
Art der Veranstaltung: 
AB A-Kolloquium
Vortragende/r: 
Prof. Antje Röder
Zugehörigkeit des Vortragenden: 
Universität Marburg
Beschreibung: 

The progress of the children of migrants, generally referred to as the “second generation”, is often considered to be an important yardstick for how well a country is integrating migrants into its labour market and society more broadly: what the first generation may not yet have achieved in terms of, for example, education, occupational attainment and language fluency should be within reach for their children born and raised in the host county. Despite the growth of the second generation literature in the United States and Europe, there is one group that has remained comparatively hidden, even though they are important numerically as well as theoretically: persons of mixed parentage, i.e. those who have one foreign born and one native parent. This is especially surprising given the vast interest in assortative mating and intermarriage within the sociological literature. Yet, this group is – with few exceptions - either not considered in this literature, or is included in the broader definition of the second generation.

In this presentation I develop a framework for understanding how and why the experiences of the children of intermarriage should differ from those born to two immigrant parents, drawing on both the integration and the intermarriage literature. I then show some first findings to illustrate that this approach is not only necessary to more accurately portray outcomes of the second generation, but also offers the potential for further insights into integration processes.