| dc.description.abstract | "As a cycling nation, the bicycle makes up a key part of daily life for many Dutch citizens, truly an object of the everyday. However, riding a bicycle is a skill that not all living within the Netherlands possess. For people in this position, the provision of cycling lessons intend to make this skill available. Through ethnographic research I have come to understand these lessons as a liminal period in which students learn a skill, moving them from one state that of a non-cyclist, to a cyclist. This period of change teaches them to cycle; an aspect of social citizenship in the Netherlands, aligning them close to a sense of Dutch identity and belonging within society
This process teaches more than riding a bicycle. The journey students travel through liminality fosters bonds and links between themselves and the teachers. Both parties mix and learn from each other, creating a two-way process of integration. Teachers learn about those they share their city with. Students learn language and knowledge of Dutch society society though interaction with the teachers, extending the lessons potential for integration beyond becoming a part of Dutch cycling culture. Upon learning the bicycle, the student's new ability allows exposure to environment which they inhabit, creating the potential for a deeper sense of belonging to be created as they experience place from two-wheels." | |
