Belonging and belongingness
This Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 03 – Good health and well-being; SDG 04 – Quality education; SDG 05 – Gender equality; SDG 08 – Decent work and economic growth; SDG 10 – Reduced inequalities; SDG 16 – Peace, justice and strong institutions.
A sense of belonging—the subjective feeling, belief, and expectation of a connection with social groups, physical locations, and individual and collective experiences—is a fundamental human need all people are driven to satisfy, and if necessary, make significant sacrifices to achieve.
An individual’s sense of belonging is a complex and dynamic product of numerous factors, whether psychological, physical, social, economic, or cultural. It is additionally bound up with notions of identity, power, safety, privilege and class, among others. Consequently, there is much academic debate about how belonging can and should be conceptualised and measured.
Research primarily in the psychological, sociological and political sciences is invited that considers ‘belonging and belongingness’. Perspectives focused on the following (and related) analytical levels are welcomed:
- Auto-biographical — e.g., the representation and visibility of one’s history and heritage; personal storytelling
- Cultural — e.g., exercise of cultural practices; cultural expectations and norms
- Economic — e.g., access to basic needs such as housing, food, healthcare, education
- Elective — e.g., dynamics behind the decision to stay (and leave) locations
- Geographical — e.g., locations and how physical conditions create sense of safety, security and stability
- Legal — e.g. access to full citizenship or rights as a member of a setting, such as benefits and social security
- Political — e.g., social, institutional and political forces that work to include/exclude or render people ‘invisible’; political narratives that influence/define an individual’s or group’s sense of belonging or feeling ‘at home’
- Relational — e.g., the importance of social ties; access to critical social networks
Scholarship on specific groups and communities (e.g., relating to religion, class, language, ethnicity, sexual or gender identity, political affiliation, minorities, etc) and analyses of how belonging influences and predicts specific outcomes (e.g., health, social, economic, educational, etc) are also encouraged.
Research that does not include an explicit connection to the theme of belonging will be considered out of scope of the collection.
Editors
Submitting a paper for consideration
To submit your manuscript for consideration at Humanities & Social Sciences Communications as part of this Collection, please follow the steps detailed on this page. On the first page of our online submission system, please select your article type from the drop down menu. When on the “details” tab, you will be presented with the option to select which Collection your article should be submitted to. Authors should also express their interest in the Collection in their cover letter.
Accepted papers are published on a rolling basis as soon as they are ready.
