TY - THES ID - 137327209 TI - Creating citizenship? Social Orientation courses and the negotiation of citizenship in Flanders AU - Baele, Anthe AU - Sakhi, Montassir AU - KU Leuven. Faculteit Sociale Wetenschappen. Opleiding Master of Cultural Anthropology and Development Studies (Leuven) PY - 2023 PB - Leuven KU Leuven. Faculteit Sociale Wetenschappen DB - UniCat UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:137327209 AB - This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the first Flemish civic integration decree being signed. Since then, there has been an increased emphasis on the ‘civic’ aspect of the policy. Although the concept of ‘civic integration’ has become common language in both policymaking and Flemish media, it appears that a definition of what this entails in practice, remains absent. One of the components of the integration trajectory is a Social Orientation course, which aims to provide a basic understanding of Flemish society, its functioning, and its history. This study investigates how citizenship is negotiated within the context of Social Orientation courses in Flanders. By adopting an emic perspective on Social Orientation courses, I will explore the performative dimensions of citizenship and how it is negotiated between a teacher, who serves as the ‘interpreter’ of Flemish civic integration policy, and newcomers, in the capacity of students in Social Orientation classes. I begin by providing a brief overview of the anthropological debate on citizenship and migration. Next, I outline the history of Flemish integration policy, highlighting two notable developments. Firstly, there has been a clear culturalization of the concept of citizenship, with Social Orientation increasingly emphasizing culture and customs. Secondly, the responsibility for civic integration has shifted from a collective responsibility to an individual one. The second part of this thesis focuses on an ethnographic study conducted during my attendance at a Social Orientation course. I argue that the teacher in class primarily emphasized both the right of my fellow students to know their rights, on the one hand, and their duty to know their rights as citizens, on the other hand. Regarding my fellow students’ position, I contend that their perception of being a citizen encompasses both a sense of belonging and societal acceptance, and I emphasize the predominantly positive embodiment, interpretation, performance, and negotiation of citizenship by my fellow students. ER -