“Wish you were here”? Geographies of exclusion: young people, coastal towns and marginality

an article by Aniela Wenham (University of York, UK) published in Journal of Youth Studies Volume 23 Issue 1 (2020)

Abstract

Within youth studies there is a growing body of research that pays attention to the importance of place in shaping young people’s identities, life opportunities and inter-generational relationships [Cuervo, H., and J. Wyn. 2014. “Reflections on the Use of Spatial and Relational Metaphors in Youth Studies.” Journal of Youth Studies 17 (7): 901–915; Farrugia, D. 2014. “Towards a Spatialised Youth Sociology: the Rural and the Urban in Times of Change.” Journal of Youth Studies 17 (3): 293–307; Woodman, D., and J. Wyn. 2015. Youth and Generation: Rethinking Change and Inequality in the Lives of Young People. Sage Publications].

Of critical importance to these discussions is the need to explore notions of ‘belonging’ and social citizenship, interrogating the extent to which differing perceptions and experiences contribute towards variations in the outcomes and life chances of disadvantaged young people.

This article draws upon ethnography, participatory arts-based research, and semi-structured interviews (n31) with young people (15–25) who live in a deprived coastal town in the North of England. The research investigated processes of marginalisation and disconnection from the perspectives of young people who were deemed as disengaged, or ‘at risk’ of disengagement, from education, employment or training.

The research took place during a time of rapid change and uncertainty as Britain voted to leave the EU. The findings of this study will ‘throw light’ on the how contemporary classed subjectivities are formed, how experiences of inequality and austerity are made sense of, and how, within a turbulent political context, young people negotiate complex transitions to adulthood.

Labels:
youth_marginality, transitions, deprivation, mobility, coastal, seaside_towns, Brexit,

Full text (PDF 18pp)

---