K.G.P. Strijbosch

Karlien Strijbosch is a PhD candidate a the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. In her PhD project Karlien investigates how return migration is related to ideas and perspectives about masculinities and the institution of marriage in Senegal. While the policy of returning unwanted migrants is widely applied across Western Europe, less is known about the follow-up; how do they build their lives under conditions of aborted migration projects in their country of origin?

Karlien conducts ethnographic fieldwork in Senegal to better understand how the socio-cultural reintegration process of returnees works.  In particular, she is interested in how young men deal with societal expectations of being an adult man in Senegal and how they and their surroundings narrate their (migration) experiences. This project collaborates with the University of Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar, and is supervised by prof. dr. Valentina Mazzucato and dr. habil Ulrike Brunotte. The PhD project is financed by the Dutch Scientific Organisation (NWO). 

Latest articles (open access): 

Strijbosch, K. and Mazzucato, V. (2024). “I could have married in Europe, if I wanted to” How black migrant men challenge moralizing and racializing discourses when returning to Senegal. Ethnic and Racial Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2024.2320775  

Strijbosch, K., Mazzucato, V. and Brunotte, U.  (2023). Performing return: victims, criminals or heroes? Senegalese male returnees engaging with the stigma of deportation, Gender, Place & Culture, 30:11, 1617-1637, DOI: 10.1080/0966369X.2023.2229056