Visible and Invisible Difference Negotiating Citizenship, Affect, and Resistance

Abstract

This article offers a retrospective analysis of discussions on citizenship, exploring the role of (in)visible difference, affect, and resistance. In group discussions with Norwegian youth, we found that positionality played a central role in framing understandings of citizenship, belonging, and discrimination. As white researchers who also experience (in)visible differences, we reflect on the students’ explicit discussions of difference, as well as their reactions to our implicit and explicitly acknowledged difference. Additional reflections are put forth on leveraging invisible difference to create space for an inclusive understanding of citizenship, resisting ideas of ethno-nationalism. This discussion demonstrates the potential which experiences with (in)visible difference have for contributing to more inclusive understandings of citizenship. Further potential implications are that acknowledgement of invisible difference by white majority educators may help to open space for an understanding of difference as a citizenship resource.

Keywords:

• Citizenship,
• Citizenship Education,
• invisible difference,
• affect,
• resistance