Caught in Between Cultures

“To be ‘caught in between cultures’ assumes that cultures and their boundaries can be mapped. Indeed, in order for us to find those conjunctural spaces, someone has to map them. Distinctions have to be made. To be ‘caught between cultures’ insider/outsider and observer/observed dichotomies must be reinforced, in spite of the best intentions to do away with them. Culture ‘itself’, then, does not construct difference. Instead, the idea of culture allows us to turn differences into something orderly, mappable and controllable. The very idea allows us to reify transformation and struggle as culture.” (Mitchell, 1995:107)

Mitchell, D. 1995. There’s no such thing as culture: towards a reconceptualization of the idea of culture in geography. Transactions of the Insititute of British Geographers, 20:102-116.