Fox O'Mahony, L and Sweeney, J (2010) The exclusion of (failed) asylum seekers from housing and home : towards an oppositional discourse. Journal of law and society., 37 (2). pp. 285-314. DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6478.2010.00505.x
Fox O'Mahony, L and Sweeney, J (2010) The exclusion of (failed) asylum seekers from housing and home : towards an oppositional discourse. Journal of law and society., 37 (2). pp. 285-314. DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6478.2010.00505.x
Fox O'Mahony, L and Sweeney, J (2010) The exclusion of (failed) asylum seekers from housing and home : towards an oppositional discourse. Journal of law and society., 37 (2). pp. 285-314. DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6478.2010.00505.x
Abstract
'Housing'? the practical provision of a roof over one's head ? is experienced by users as 'home'? broadly described as housing plus the experiential elements of dwelling. Conversely, being without housing, commonly described as 'homelessness', is experienced not only as an absence of shelter but in the philosophical sense of 'ontological homelessness' and alienation from the conditions for well-being. For asylum seekers, these experiences are deliberately and explicitly excluded from official law and policy discourses. This article demonstrates how law and policy is propelled by an 'official discourse' based on the denial of housing and the avoidance of 'home' attachments, which effectively keeps the asylum seeker in a state of ontological homelessness and alienation. We reflect on this exclusion and consider how a new 'oppositional discourse' of housing and home ? taking these considerations into account ? might impact on the balancing exercise inherent to laws and policies concerning asylum seekers.
Item Type: | Article |
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Uncontrolled Keywords: | Asylum seekers; Failed asylum seekers; Housing and home; Oppositional discourse. |
Subjects: | K Law |
Divisions: | Faculty of Arts and Humanities Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Essex Law School |
SWORD Depositor: | Unnamed user with email elements@essex.ac.uk |
Depositing User: | Unnamed user with email elements@essex.ac.uk |
Date Deposited: | 29 Aug 2013 22:43 |
Last Modified: | 16 May 2024 17:58 |
URI: | http://repository.essex.ac.uk/id/eprint/7275 |
Available files
Filename: 8411.pdf
Description: The definitive version is available at www3.interscience.wiley.com