Migration mobilities

Local villages and global networks: language and migration narratives of a group of skilled migrant African scholars.

by ellen hurst

2012 Conference paper at American Association of Applied Linguistics (AAAL), Boston, 24th-27th March.

There has been a focus in international literature on skilled migration to developed countries from developing... more There has been a focus in international literature on skilled migration to developed countries from developing countries, resulting in ‘brain drain’. However, skilled migration also takes place between developing countries in the global south. This research unpacks a series of narratives of migration and language by a group of thirteen African scholars currently working at a South African university.
It emerges that in the process of migration from their home countries (Zambia, Malawi, Nigeria, Ghana, DRC, Kenya, Uganda & Zimbabwe) all but one of the participants have taken an indirect route through one or more ‘developed’ countries prior to settling in South Africa, primarily the UK, the USA and Europe; and that these routes are connected to language, resources, and identity. African skilled migrant academics are caught, physically and metaphorically between the ‘local’: represented by village and the ‘global’ represented by network. In language terms, this implies particular responsibilities for home languages on the one hand, and English as a transnational language on the other. This research has implications for the way we think about the dynamics of African skilled migration.

Project Report:“Skilled Migration and Global English: Language, Development, and the African Professional” Funded by the Worldwide Universities Network, …

by ellen hurst

Lead PI: Suresh Canagarajah, Director Migration Studies Project, Penn State University, USA.
Co-PI‘s: Adrian Bailey, Leeds University, UK;
Frances Giampapa, Bristol University, UK;
Margaret Hawkins, University of Wisconsin, USA;
Ellen Hurst, University of Cape Town, South Africa;
Ahmar Mahboob, University of Sydney, Australia;
Paul Roberts, York University, UK;
Sandra Silberstein, University of Washington, USAi.

Skilled migrants (SM) are important agents for development. Harnessing the economic and social benefits of remitting... more Skilled migrants (SM) are important agents for development. Harnessing the economic and social benefits of remitting while minimizing social and political costs represents an important locus of international policy discussion. The Migration-Development nexus has engendered useful partnerships between governments and skilled diaspora groups, e.g., Global Scot. However, the role of the African skilled diaspora for development is not particularly well established or studied, and needs more attention.

While much discussion extols the benefits of knowledge circulation and brain gain, little systematic attention has been given to the role of language. Neo-classical frameworks regard fluency as an important input for individual migrants’ economic success in destination settings. As most SM move to labor markets where English is the language of business, acquisition of English is seen as an important element of human capital. A lucrative English as Second Language industry has emerged globally, furthering the dominance of Global English. What remains unexamined is the role of language for SM who may contribute to development work which involves simultaneous engagement with developed English-language host communities, multilingual global labour markets, and non-English African communities that are targets of development. Also unexamined is the fact that English language constitutes different varieties globally, and generates considerable challenges in inter-community relations.

WUN Pilot Study

The research reported below is part of a larger study funded by the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN). Here, we report on three research questions:

1. How does English shape the flow of SM and trajectories of migration?

2. In what ways does English shape the levels of success of SM?

3. How does English affect SM role in development?

Led by the Penn State University, researchers from 8 international universities focused on SM from sub-Saharan Africa, working in the US, UK, Australia, South Africa, and Uganda. Uniquely, the researchers used a common survey (adjusted for origin/destination contexts) to collect ethnographic data on how language affects migration and development.

The Legal Adaptation of British Settlers in Turkey

by Prakash Shah

Co-authored with Dr. Derya Bayir

This article is based on a fieldwork project conducted by the authors in the Muğla region of western Turkey. The... more This article is based on a fieldwork project conducted by the authors in the Muğla region of western Turkey. The region is the locale for a significant level of settlement by British people, within the wider context of settlement by groups of other EU nationals in western Turkey. Based on a series of interviews with British settlers and Turkish locals, it examines the factors which affect the process of legal adaptation of the former group. It identifies and discusses the place of British settlers within the larger Turkish legal order, their integration into Turkish life, and the extent to which different socio-legal disabilities and advantages affect this process. The article also casts some light on the extent to which, given the level of British immigration into the area, Turkish officialdom is prepared for their presence.

The power of imagination in transnational mobilities

by Noel B. Salazar

Salazar, Noel B. 2011. The power of imagination in transnational mobilities. Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power, 18(6):576-598.

At the roots of many travels to distant destinations - be it in the context of tourism or migration – are historically... more At the roots of many travels to distant destinations - be it in the context of tourism or migration – are historically laden and socio-culturally constructed imaginaries. People worldwide rely on such imaginaries, from the most spectacular fantasies to the most mundane reveries, to shape identities of themselves and others. These unspoken representational systems are powerful because they enact and construct peoples and places, implying multiple, often conflicting, representations of Otherness, and questioning several core values multicultural societies hold, by blurring traditional territorial, social and cultural boundaries, and creating hybrid forms. What are the contours of power, agency, and subjectivity in imaginaries of transnational mobility and the intersecting social categories those visions both reify and dissolve? Ethnographic studies of human (im)mobility provide an innovative means to grasp the complexity of the global circulation of people and the meaning-making images and ideas surrounding these movements. As a polymorphic concept, mobility invites us to renew our theorizing, especially regarding conventional themes such as culture, identity, and transnational relationships. This paper critically analyses some preliminary findings of an ongoing multi-sited research project that traces how prevalent imaginaries of transnational tourism to and migration from the “global South” are (dis)connected. I suggest anthropology has unique contributions to make to the current debate in the social sciences by ethnographically detailing how mobility is a contested ideological construct involving so much more than mere movement.

Anthropological takes on (im)mobility: Introduction

by Noel B. Salazar

Salazar, Noel B., & Smart, A. 2011. Anthropological takes on (im)mobility: Introduction. Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power, 18(6):i-ix.

In this introduction, we outline the general conceptual framework that ties the various contributions to this special... more In this introduction, we outline the general conceptual framework that ties the various contributions to this special issue together. We argue for the importance of anthropology to “take on” mobility and discuss the advantages of the ethnographic approach in doing so. What is the analytical purchase of mobility as one of the root metaphors in contemporary anthropological theorizing? What are
the (dis)advantages of looking at the current human condition through the lens of mobility? There is a great risk that the fast-growing field of mobility studies neglects different interpretations of what is going on, or that only patterns that fit
the mobilities paradigm will be considered, or that only extremes of (hyper)mobility or (im)mobility will be given attention. The ethnographic sensibilities of fieldworkers who learn about mobility while studying other processes and issues, and who can situate movement in the multiple contexts between which people move, can
both extend the utility of the mobilities approach, and insist on attention to other dynamics that might not be considered if the focus is first and last on (im)mobility as such. In this special issue, we do not want to discuss human mobility as a brute fact but rather analyze how mobilities, as sociocultural constructs, are experienced
and imagined.

L’immigration de professionnels de la santé au Québec : un enjeu d’envergure en santé mondiale

by Marie-Jeanne Blain

co-authored with José Carlos Suárez-Herrera. Submitted to "Anthropologie & Santé" (http://www.openedition.org/8052).
To be published in 2012.

(Abstract in English to come)

Dans un contexte où les processus de production et de transfert des... more (Abstract in English to come)

Dans un contexte où les processus de production et de transfert des expertises techniques sont imbriqués dans une logique de marché à l’échelle mondiale, les systèmes de santé contemporains sont interpellés par de nombreux défis liés à la mobilité internationale des professionnels de la santé. Nous inspirant d’approches des champs de l’anthropologie de la santé et de la sociologie des organisations, nous souhaitons réfléchir sur les dynamiques complexes qui se tissent entre des phénomènes globaux associés à la mondialisation des sociétés contemporaines et des enjeux locaux associés à la mobilité internationale des professionnels de la santé, plus spécifiquement l’intégration de médecins diplômés à l’étranger sur le marché du travail québécois. La contribution d’une approche socio-anthropologique de la santé mondiale, à la fois locale et globale, visant à mettre au jour l’interrelation entre des jeux de pouvoir locaux et des inégalités sociales à l’échelle mondiale apparaît essentielle.

Mots-clés :
Migration, santé mondiale, médecins diplômés à l’étranger, intégration professionnelle, Québec-Canada.

Barreiras físicas à circulação como dispositivos de política migratória: notas para uma tipologia (2007)

by Helion Povoa-Neto

Negotiating diasporic mobilities and becomings: interactions and practices of Europeans of Moroccan descent on holiday in Morocco

by Lauren Wagner

Thesis
Geography, UCL

In recent years, the annual summer journey of Moroccan families from Europe towards ‘home’ has become a... more In recent years, the annual summer journey of Moroccan families from Europe towards ‘home’ has become a state-acknowledged event as their arrivals number in the millions. These holidays serve an important role in molding ideas and practices of ‘Moroccanness’ for post-migrant generation diasporic visitors, as it is during this time that those of Moroccan descent raised in Europe have the most exposure to Morocco in situ – to language, community and space as they are practiced within the territorial boundaries of the nation – instead of their habitually practiced ways of being Moroccan (or not-being Moroccan) elsewhere. Using an approach based in linguistic anthropology alongside a geographical consideration of embodiment and mobilities, this thesis focuses on communicative and consumption practices of such individuals during their visits to Morocco. I traveled with participants, observing and recording interactions amongst diasporic visitors and community members resident in Morocco, and engaging with them in their practices of touristic leisure consumption. Thinking about ideas of ‘Moroccanness’ as a node in assemblage, unfixed yet specific, I demonstrate how their communicative and consumption practices shape an evolving sense of what it means to be ‘Moroccan’ for diasporic visitors. Their ideas of ‘Moroccanness’, which take shape both as rooted in diasporic connection and as touristic appreciation through consumption, resonate with the sense of ‘being Moroccan’ during their holidays and when they return ‘home’ to Europe. Yet, their diasporic orientation towards Morocco as a place of leisure consumption has ramifications on the relationship between future diasporic generations and the territory as ‘homeland’. My main theoretical contributions are: reimagining ‘diasporic’ in materialist terms, as an action instead of a state of being; and reimagining ‘hybridity’ as a set of interactions responding to multiple attractors in multiplicity, rather than an unstable condition of being neither one, nor the other.

Portuguese Labor Migrants in Western and Central Europe since the 1950s: The Examples of France and Germany

by Marcelo Borges

Published in The Encyclopedia of Migration and Minorities in Europe: From the 17th Century to the Present, ed. Klaus Bade, Pieter Emmer, Leo Lucassen, and Jochen Oltmer. New York: Cambrige University Press, 2011, 619-23.

Migrant networks, language learning and tourism employment

by Peter Lugosi

This paper is published as:
Janta, H., Lugosi, P., Brown, L. and Ladkin, A. Migrant networks, language learning and tourism employment. Tourism Management Vol. 33 No. 2, pp. 431-439. Please consult the published version if citing.

This paper examines the relationship between migrants’ social networks, the processes of language acquisition and... more This paper examines the relationship between migrants’ social networks, the processes of language acquisition and tourism employment. Data collected using netnography and interviews are used to identify the strategies that Polish workers in the UK use to develop their language skills. The paper highlights the roles played by co-workers, co-nationals and customers in migrants’ language learning, both in the physical spaces of work and the virtual spaces of internet forums. It also shows how migrant workers exchange knowledge about the use of English during different stages of their migration careers: prior to leaving their country of origin and getting a job, during their employment and after leaving their job. Implications for academic inquiry and human resource management practice are outlined.

Migrant Relationships and Tourism Employment

by Peter Lugosi

Janta, H., Brown, L., Lugosi, P. and Ladkin, L. (2011) 'Migrant relationships and tourism employment', Annals of Tourism Research, vol. 38, no. 4, pp. 1322-1343.
If citing please consult the corrected published version.

This paper examines how tourism employment and workplace experiences influence migrant workers' adaptation in the host... more This paper examines how tourism employment and workplace experiences influence migrant workers' adaptation in the host society. It is argued that tourism employment provides access to multiple social networks, which subsequently supports the improvement of foreign workers’ social and cultural competencies. Such networks also help to compensate for the negative aspects of tourism work and migration. In addition, the paper considers how relationships among international workers inform chain migration and influence subsequent recruitment practices and migration experiences. The findings stem from a wider study of the experiences of Polish migrant workers employed in the UK tourism sector using qualitative and quantitative data. 

Constructing Central Asia from potential European expatriates during delocalization contexts

by Hugo Gaggiotti

in Robertson, R., Gaggiotti, H., ed. (2006). Business Leadership in Central Asia. Almaty: Caspian Publishing House.

Migration and the search for a better way of life: a critical exploration of lifestyle migration

by Michaela Benson

(2009) (with O’Reilly, K.) ‘Migration and the search for a better way of life: a critical exploration of lifestyle migration’, The Sociological Review 57(4): 608-625

For the past few years, the term ‘lifestyle migration’ has been used to refer to an increasing number of people who... more For the past few years, the term ‘lifestyle migration’ has been used to refer to an increasing number of people who take the decision to migrate based on their belief that there is a more fulfilling way of life available to them elsewhere. Lifestyle migration is thus a growing, disparate phenomenon, with important but little understood implications for both societies and individuals. This article outlines and explores in detail a series of mobilities that have in common relative affluence and this search for a better lifestyle. We attempt to define the limits of the term lifestyle migration, the characteristics of the lifestyle sought, and the place of this form of migration in the contemporary world. In this manner, we map the various migrations that can be considered under this broad rubric, recognising the similarities and differences in their migration trajectories. Further to this, drawing on the sociological literature on lifestyle, we provide an initial theoretical conceptualisation of this phenomenon, attempting to explain its recent escalation in various guises, and investigating the historical, sociological, and individualised conditions that inspire this migration. This article is thus the first step in defining a broader programme for the study of lifestyle migration. We contend that the study of this migration is especially important in the current era given the impact such moves have on places and people at both ends of the migratory chain.

The Ritualisation of Food, Home and National Identity among Polish Migrants in London.

by marta rabikowska

Social Identities: Journal for the Study of Race, Nation and Culture.
Special Issue. Ed. by Marta Rabikowska (2010) 16(3), May

In this paper a process of negotiating identity among Polish migrants will be discussed in relation to their food... more In this paper a process of negotiating identity among Polish migrants will be discussed in relation to their food habits: consumption, preparation and celebration. Through the ethnographic examination of food rituals the construction of meaning of home as both space and nationality will be observed and the attitude to the host culture will be revealed in the quotidian activities. The qualitative research based on interviews and visual ethnography has shown that there are three dominant ways of exchange with the local culture ranging from the least present to the ostentatiously conspicuous, named here as: orthodox, porous, and alternate.  Each of them, however, is characterised by a perplexing degree of fluidity and sometimes contradiction which opposes the objectification of the models of culture, as had been already noticed by Bhaba (1994/2007) in relation to diasporic cultures and their tactics of adaptation.  Home among Polish immigrants to the UK is a changing concept, open to negotiation, depending on their current personal situation, profession, gender, expectations, ambitions and even peer pressure. Yet (re)creating home requires a certain dose of familiarity conceived from the meaning of Polishness which needs to be materialised from the past memories on a daily basis. This research shows that such process oscillates between acceptance and rejection recognisable in the acts of mundane rituals, gaining their significance from the emotional engagement of the participants.

2011. Dearly Deported: Social Citizenship of Undocumented Minors in the U.S. Migration Letters 8(1):55-66.

by Brandon Lundy

First-second generation undocumented minors to the US are considered through an experiential-style “letter” in which... more First-second generation undocumented minors to the US are considered through an experiential-style “letter” in which the author uses his personal narrative as a backdrop for the deportation dilemma. The two primary questions considered in this piece are, can compassion play a role in policy decisions regarding deportation, and what happens when a person develops social citizenship within the host nation and then experiences deportation as a result of a fairly rigid world system? The focus is on the individual costs of forced migration when the promises of a new world order lead to alienation for the peoples of the Global South.

Keywords: Deportation, social citizenship, minors, Cape Verde, Kennesaw State University.

Spatial Autocorrelation Analysis for the Evaluation of Migration Flows: The Italian Case

by Beniamino Murgante

Scardaccione S., Scorza F., Las Casas G., Murgante B. (2010) “Spatial Autocorrelation Analysis for the Evaluation of Migration Flows: The Italian Case”, Lecture Notes in Computer Science vol. 6016, pp. 62–76. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. ISSN: 0302-9743, doi:10.1007/978-3-642-12156-2_5

During the last decades immigration phenomenon reached a considerable importance, not only in research sector but also... more During the last decades immigration phenomenon reached a considerable importance, not only in research sector but also at public opinion level. Migration is a complex phenomenon demanding a system analysis which goes beyond demographic and economic considerations. The purpose of this study was to investigate the spatial structure of foreign presence in Italy in order to identify its geographical demarcation line among different interpretations. Traditional statistical analysis suggests different conventional indices allowing to quantify immigration phenomenon. Traditional indices, as Location Quotients and Segregation Index, have been compared to innovative indices including spatial statistics elements, as well as global and local indicators of spatial association. Such indicators have been created on the basis of available data for the case study, but also considering information which can be easily found in great part of national contexts.

Martin, C. (2011). 'Desperate Passage: Violent Mobilities and the Politics of Discomfort'

by Craig Martin

In: Journal of Transport Geography. Vol.19. pp.1046-1052
Special issue on the geographies of the passenger, edited by Peter Adey, David Bissell, and Eric Laurier

Tourism and migration: new relationships between production and consumption

by C. Michael Hall

Williams, A. & Hall, C.M. 2000, Tourism and migration: new relationships between production and consumption. Tourism Geographies, 2(1): 5-27.

Transnational mobilities of Pacific Islanders resident in New Zealand

by C. Michael Hall

Hall, C.M.  and Duval, D. 2004, Transnational mobilities of Pacific Islanders resident in New Zealand, pp.78-94... more Hall, C.M.  and Duval, D. 2004, Transnational mobilities of Pacific Islanders resident in New Zealand, pp.78-94 in Tourism and Diaspora, eds. T. Coles and D. Timothy, Routledge, London.

Amenity migration in the South Island of New Zealand: Contestation for land and landscape in Central Otago

by C. Michael Hall

Hall, C.M. 2006, Amenity migration in the South Island of New Zealand: Contestation for land and landscape in Central... more Hall, C.M. 2006, Amenity migration in the South Island of New Zealand: Contestation for land and landscape in Central Otago, 295-305 in Amenity Migrants: Seeking and Sustaining Mountains and their Cultures, ed. L. Moss, CAB International, Wallingford.