Professional paper
One of many: an ethnographic study of illegal housing in a student dormitory
Nikolina Novaković
Abstract
The basic prerequisite for students’ realization in the study is, among other primary needs, adequate living space. This issue is especially important for students who change their place of residence upon arrival to study, where they mostly live in student dormitories or rented apartments. However, in some cases they do not ensure that space in a legal way. This paper, starting with recognizing and explaining the phenomenon of illegal housing in student dormitories as one of the forms of informal economy, is focused on one illegal resident, his everyday life and experiences. The research questions posed in the paper are the reasons and motivations behind this way of living and the practices and strategies that arise in response to some of the difficulties of this way of life. The methods of work are therefore the analysis of media materials, mainly Internet articles, the study and analysis of theoretical literature on similar forms of informal economy, and a semi-structured interview with one student. This study concludes that by perpetuating this almost normal, among the student community, but at the same time illegal practice, along with neglecting and not questioning this practice and its effects, from the wider community, the unequal power relations of those involved in this practice is supported, those who sell places in student dormitories and those who buy them, which should have no place in academia and the wider community, which only deepens the problem of finding accommodation for those who are actually in need of it.
Keywords
illegal housing, student dormitories, strategies, informal economy
Hrčak ID:
253240
URI
Publication date:
5.3.2021.
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