Navigating Colour-Blind Societies: A Comparative Ethnography of Muslim Urban Life in Copenhagen and Montreal

Published by IED Network on

In this online lecture, Amani Hassani (Brunel University) will discuss her book ‘Navigating Colour-Blind Societies’, a comparative ethnography of racialisation, class, and gender in the lives of young Muslims coming of age in societies where race is deemed insignificant. 

Date: 27 / 01 / 2025 Digital Lecture: 15.00 – 16.30 CET

The book ‘Navigating Colour-Blind Societies’ offers insights into the urban lives of young middle-class Muslims in Copenhagen and Montreal. Based on their narratives, the book examines racialisation as (1) a social process that is classed and gendered and (2) a spatial process that is social and temporal.

Denmark and Quebec have seen an increasing thrust of nationalist politics in recent years, which position their Muslim citizens as the quintessential “Other.”

The book contributes to our understanding of how Muslims are racialised and how they navigate this process of racialisation in social and urban life. The interaction between movement and life stories provides a unique vantage point in bringing the city to life from the perspective of these young adults.

Amani Hassani is an urban ethnographer working at the intersection of sociology, anthropology, and human geography. Her research explores the connection between racialisation and spatialisation, focusing on Muslim populations in the Global North.