A sociological analysis of cultural transformation of migrant youth: The case of Neighborhood of Huzur in İnegöl

This study aimed to analyze the cultural transformation in Turkey that the immigrants from relatively rural areas in the Eastern and the Southeast undergo upon moving to the Western urban area of Bursa. It undertook the analysis with special reference to their identity construction, integration to urban life, social relations regarding gender issues, and political perception of social unity. It specifically focused on the cultural transformation of Kurdish citizens of the second-generation migrant youth. It argued that while sharing some cultural codes or habitus of their parents, this migrant youth nevertheless comprise a "transition generation" in terms of their adaptation to the new urban setting and culture they encounter. At the end of this study, looking at the changes and transformations of kurdish migrants from the first generation immigrants to the second generation, it is discovered that the second generation takes much more significant roles than expected at the beginning of the study. While the second generation immigrant youth population of the Huzur Neighborhood is shaping their behavior to emerging situations, they imitate the contemporary and popular culture of urban life which their parents consciously distant themselves from. In addition, the lack of the command of the native language (Kurdish) among the second generation immigrant youth leads to the hardships in communication with their own first-generation immigrant parents who do not have the command of Turkish either. Therefore, they can not communicate clearly. As a result of these communication problems, second generation moves away from their own parents thereby getting emotionally detached. Besides, there are some discrepancies between men and women of second generation with regard to their traditional roles in the society. For example, position of women in traditional society is more openly criticized by second-generation women compared to any criticism might come from the second-generation men. Moreover, second-generation-men have been observed to experience more conflicts with their parents compared to the second-generation women studied in this research. Empirically, I first utilized the address-based population registration system to randomly had been selected 300 immigrant youth from Eastern and Southeastern area residing in İnegöl-Bursa. I then designed a survey with questions focusing on their cultural attitudes and the principal elements shaping their values on the one side and action and behavior on the other. In addition, I conducted in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with 30 the immigarnt youth to capture the cultural, ideological, and social context of the urban setting within which they now live. Keywords: Kurdish Migrant, Youth, Cultural Transformation, İdentity Construction, Belongingness, Urban, Bursa.