| dc.description.abstract | This thesis investigates how senses of belonging and perceptions of discrimination and prejudice have changed among Danish-Somalis in Aarhus from c. 1990 to 2017. The study is primarily based on seven oral history interviews with Danish-Somalis, who arrived in Denmark between 1987 and 2001. The bottom-up perspective provides insights into an important minority group, while placing the microhistorical findings into the broader sociohistorical context of recent Danish history. Despite heuristic limitations, this opens avenues for generalisation. The thesis concludes that Danish-Somalis in Aarhus believe they are associated with a set of prejudices, such as: economic prejudices related to unemployment, welfare benefits, being uneducated, or lazy; and cultural prejudices related to family life, or terrorism. Consequently, the thesis concludes that Danish-Somalis strongly believe they have been discriminated against. This discrimination was mainly associated with labor discrimination, although legislative and police discrimination was mentioned as well. The thesis revealed that from c. 1990 to 2017 Danish-Somalis experienced a change in both prejudice and discrimination. This change was largely negative, with the exception of labor market inclusion, where the interviewees felt improvements had occurred. The majority of interviewees did not reflect on the exact timing of changes from c. 1990 to 2017, but rather pointed to some underlying causes and turning points. The interviewees who did pinpoint a specific time of change believed the changes occurred in the last ten to fifteen years. The underlying causes and turning points were believed to be: the September 11, 2001 terror attack, a rise in global conflicts or wars involving countries with a Muslim majority, a general harshening of the media’s portrayal of Muslims, and changes in Danish politics, e.g. the popularity and legitimacy of Dansk Folkeparti. The thesis further finds that almost all interviewees had senses of belonging tied to both Danish and Somali culture. Similarly, almost all believed that the rise in prejudice and discrimination negatively affected their sense of belonging in Denmark. Lastly the thesis uses theories from sociology and psychology to analyze the empirical findings from historical archives and oral history interviews. Theories were used as a tool to investigate the changes found among Danish-Somalis in Aarhus, and in Danish politics from c. 1990 to 2017. It was concluded that Danish-Somalis’ experiences of discrimination/prejudice and their sense of belonging was not constant, but affected by changes in Denmark as a whole. In connection with the theoretical analysis, I propose a revised version of Berry’s theory of acculturation strategies. | eng |