Student Housing: Comparative Perspectives on Reported Experiences

More than fifteen years since the launch of a research programme on the living and housing conditions of students in France and across the European Union (Némoz, Bousquet, 2007)1, a new survey has been introduced, conducted among and with the involvement of current students. While exactly sixty years ago, individuals enrolled in higher education were referred to as “the inheritors” within France (Bourdieu and Passeron, 1964)2, what analysis can sociology offer today? This is a vast and ambitious question, as evidenced by the numerous studies carried out during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. In this paper, we pursue the more modest aim of exploring the residential practices of students by comparing around thirty autoethnographies conducted daily for almost four months in 2024. This empirical material, containing a wealth of feedback on residential experiences, was approached from a range of comparative perspectives (local, national, international and longitudinal), the methodological and analytical foundations of which we will describe. We will outline the role of collective reflexivity in these approaches, particularly when exploring issues of social justice and spatial justice. Lastly, we will present the findings on inequalities that can be obtained by using a bottom-up approach to the systems for accessing and occupying student housing.

References :

1. Némoz S., Bousquet L., 2007, How students live and dwell in France and European Union ?, Invitation to tender for research, Paris, PUCA, French Ministry of Transport, Housing, Tourism and Sea.

2. Bourdieu P., Passeron J. C., 1964, Les héritiers. Les étudiants et la culture, Paris, Les Editions de Minuit.