Sociology of Migration

Migrations, vieillissement et interdépendances familiales

by Laura Merla

Published in DelphAgora La Lettre 5 mai-août 2012

Une réflexion sur les enjeux, en Belgique, du vieillissement dans un contexte migratoire Une réflexion sur les enjeux, en Belgique, du vieillissement dans un contexte migratoire

“Review of Latino Migrants in a Jewish State by Barak Kalir.”

by Sarah Willen

Willen, Sarah S. Forthcoming 2012. “Review of Latino Migrants in a Jewish State by Barak Kalir.” Review of Middle East Studies. 46(1).

1950-1980ko hamarkadetako etorkinen integrazio moduak Hego Euskal Herrian

by Iker Iraola

Discursos sobre la integración: la inmigración al País Vasco en los años 1950-1970

by Iker Iraola

Migration, care, and the linked lives of dual-earner households

by Megan Blake

From “Gastarbeiter” To “People With Migration Background”: A Critical Overview Of German Migration Sociology

by Cüneyd Dinc

Migration as a social fact was neglected by German society and public bodies until the 1990s. Hence as sub-discipline... more Migration as a social fact was neglected by German society and public bodies until the 1990s. Hence as sub-discipline migration sociology was a research area which received little attention. Only when the interest of German society on migration rose, migration sociology in Germany became important. The result was a explosion of academic publications on migrations and the problems of migrants. The aim of this article is to give a concise and critical overview about German migration sociology. It will draw its basic characteristics and the methodological and interpretative problems Migration sociology must deal with. By neglecting the fact that the contend of German migration sociology is shaped by means of public demand and discussion, the researchers with non migration background are faced with a lack of self reflexivity, which biased their results and gives a wrong picture of migration and migrants.

Marriages of Convenience, and Inconvenient Marriages: regulating spousal migration to Britain

by Michaela Benson

Charsley, K. and Benson, M. (2012) 'Marriages of Convenience, and Inconvenient Marriages: regulating spousal migration to Britain'. Journal of Immigration,  Asylum and Nationality Law 26(1): 10-26.

In the context of the European Convention on Human Rights obligation to respect family life, the UK governments stated... more In the context of the European Convention on Human Rights obligation to respect family life, the UK governments stated aim of significantly reducing immigration is challenged by the volume of marriage-related migration and settlement. In this context, increased immigration policy attention has focussed on the genuineness of marriages involving migrants. The resulting attempts to define, identify and combat marriages of convenience are, however, based on a binary of genuine and sham marriages, and sometimes normative criteria for evaluating the authenticity of relationships. These may not adequately account for the diversity of marital practices involving migration, and risk producing discriminatory outcomes. With the assistance of previously unpublished UKBA material, this article explores recent developments surrounding sham marriages to highlight areas of particular concern, before setting out an agenda for urgently needed research in this under-studied but increasingly critical area.

Beyond representations and into everyday life: exploring why and how British migrants stay in rural France

by Michaela Benson

I will be presenting this paper at the RGS-IBG conference in Edinburgh in July 2012

British migration to rural France, as in the case of other pro-rural migrations, is influenced by socio-cultural... more British migration to rural France, as in the case of other pro-rural migrations, is influenced by socio-cultural representations that valorize rural living. Drawing on an ethnographic study of the British residents of the Lot, an inland department in southwest France, this paper demonstrates how, in life following migration, such representations play a more-than-representational role in the migrants’ lives, with ideas about what constitutes rural living becoming increasing refined and significant to individuals as they engage in an ongoing quest for a better way of life. As the paper demonstrates, following migration representations of rural living transmute into reflections on how to live an authentic life, embedded more widely within the context of individual migration and life histories. While these are, in part, caught up with concerns over how to distinguish their lives and lifestyles from those of their middle-class compatriots also living in rural France, such reflections additionally express a concern with self-authenticity. As this paper argues, recurrent reflections on how to live reveal how their migration to rural France is part of an ongoing life project, articulated in the sense that there is always something more to life, in which concerns over class position and self-identity intersect.

A Place at the Multicultural Table: The Development of an American Hinduism

by Samuel Stroope

The New Muslim Religious Brokers in European Cities and Politics of Muslim Citizenship

by Konrad Pedziwiatr

Pędziwiatr, K. (2012). The New Muslim Religious Brokers in European Cities and Politics of Muslim Citizenship. COLLeGIUM: Studies Across Disciplines in the Humanities and Social Sciences, 11, 83-99.

On the basis of the research into active social citizenship amongst the new Muslim religious brokers in Brussels and... more On the basis of the research into active social citizenship amongst the new Muslim religious brokers in Brussels and London, this paper explores the transition from the politics of Muslim identity to the politics of Muslim citizenship, a major change in the public mobilisation of Islam in Belgium and Britain. It argues that this move has been closely linked with the development of civic consciousness among certain
segments of the Muslim populations in Europe and the construction of a new type of identity – ‘Muslim civicness’ - which is characterised by strong support for the
national projects, activism beyond Muslim symbolic boundaries, emphasis on the similar rights to other citizens and obligations vis-à-vis all the citizens regardless of their religious adherence.   

What the Future Holds for Muslims in Western Europe

by Konrad Pedziwiatr

Pedziwiatr, K. (2006). What the Future Holds for Muslims in Western Europe. Arches Quarterly, 2, 2-8.

From Islam of Immigrants to Islam of Citizens

by Konrad Pedziwiatr

Pedziwiatr, K. (2007). From Islam of Immigrants to Islam of Citizens or Key Transformation Within Islam in Europe. Arches Quarterly, 1(1), 28-34.

I percorsi di sindacalizzazione del bracciantato migrante nel distretto della clandestinità: il movimento dei migranti di Caserta

by Francesco Caruso

X Convegno nazionale Associazione Iitaliana Sociologia, "Stato, nazioni, società globale", 23-25 settembre, 2010, Milano.

The morphology specification in terms of social, urban and territorial integrity of the Volturno lowland, with its... more The morphology specification in terms of social, urban and territorial integrity of the Volturno lowland, with its "rururban continuum" in which the chaotic expansion of the sprawling urban environment is combined with a high agricultural vocation, has contributed in recent decades to a spatial clustering of migration that reflects deeply the characteristics of the Mediterranean model of migration: extreme mobility, undeclared work, citizenship irregularities, intensive exploitation.
In this local context, the full economic value of illegal immigration clashes with embryonic processes of social mobilization of migrants who try to force and break the filters of inclusion and differential features.
This paper aims to focus on the experience of the Movement of Migrants and Refugees of Caserta, an experience of struggle that since 1996 has gathered thousands of undocumented area of Castel Volturno from mobilizations for recognition of a residence permit.
In the recent years, particularly the social activism of this movement has contributed to a process of subjectification "mestizo", produced by the wrapping of diverse experiences, identities, histories and cultures, key players of the pauseless migratory flows in transit in this particular territorial space "intermediate" between Black Africa and the Europe Fortress.
First of all, from the relationships between this organized movement and the spontaneous riots of migrants in Castelvolturno in September 2008 and Rosarno in January 2010, we will examine how in such collective expressions of reversal applied to social invisibility to turn it into a major social
role elements of breach from the traditional forms of political participation of late-liberal Western democracies are included and articulated.
In a second moment, by analyzing the links between this experience of struggle and the reality of indigenous social activism, we will discuss the elements of cultural contamination that appear in mobilization campaigns for the rights of citizenship of immigrants, as a result of relocation and an adaptation of repertoires of action and transnational knowledge to the specific land context.
As I look at these processes of subjectification we aim to go beyond the predominant image of the migrant as a person embedded in the traditional family networks and community, dominated by passive devices governmental control, in order to grasp the load instead of social innovation in the 'migratory experiences are carriers, their social power capable not only of suffering but also to widen and reconfigure the shapes, borders and the very meaning of the categories of inclusion and
citizenship.

Immer wieder sonntags: Die Schaffung sozialer, politischer und transnationaler Räume durch migrantische Hausangestellte in Hongkong

by Stefan Rother

Rother, Stefan. 2012. "Immer wieder sonntags: Die Schaffung sozialer, politischer und transnationaler Räume durch migrantische Hausangestellte in Hongkong." In Urbanisierung und internationale Migration. Migrantenökonomien und Migrationspolitik in Städten, eds. Frauke Kraas, and Tabea Bork. Baden-Baden: Nomos Verl.-Ges., 167–80.

In einer „global city“ wie Hongkong, die zudem Zeit ihres Bestehens von Migranten
geprägt wurde, sind Migration... more In einer „global city“ wie Hongkong, die zudem Zeit ihres Bestehens von Migranten
geprägt wurde, sind Migration und Urbanisierung auf besonders enge
Weise verknüpft. Für Saskia Sassen (2002, 17f.) eröffnet sich in diesen globalen
Städten eine neue Geographie von Politik und Zivilgesellschaft, die Räume auf
der subnationalen Ebene schafft und verbindet.
Im folgenden Beitrag sollen einige dieser neuen Räume, in denen sich die Migrantinnen
bewegen und die sie geschaffen haben, dargestellt werden. Der Begriff
„Raum“ findet dabei sowohl für konkrete als auch abstrakte Räume Verwendung.
Eine tiefergehende Diskussion des Raumbegriffs würde Rahmen und Ausrichtung
dieses Beitrags sprengen; somit beschränke ich mich in einem ersten
Teil auf eine knappe Skizze der Verwendung des Raumbegriffs in der Migrationsforschung.
Als weiteren Hintergrund schildere ich Anlass und Entwicklung
des massiven „Imports“ von Hausangestellten nach Hongkong. Darauf stelle ich
den schutzlosen Raum, in dem sich der Alltag der Hausangestellten weitgehend
abspielt, dem öffentlichen Raum gegenüber, den die Migrantinnen sozial und
politisch nutzen. Gleichzeitig entsteht hier ein in mehrerer Hinsicht transnationaler
Raum; mit dem Konzept des transnationalen Politikraums und einer zusammenfassenden
Betrachtung wird der Beitrag abgeschlossen.
3

Low-Status Work and Decollectivization: The Case of Bangladeshis in Athens

by Theodoros Fouskas

Theodoros Fouskas (2012) Low-Status Work and Decollectivization: The Case of Bangladeshis in Athens, Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, 10:1, 54-73.

This article focuses on the repercussions of work and employment in low-status jobs upon the collective organization... more This article focuses on the repercussions of work and employment in low-status jobs upon the collective organization and representation of immigrant workers. The microsociological analysis is focused on the case of Bangladeshi immigrants in Athens, specifically how far the frame of their employment affects their participation in the immigrant work association Bangladeshi Immigrant Workers’ Union of Greece, as well as in Greek trade unions. Evidence from in-depth interviews proves that Bangladeshis are supported by friendly relations in search for solidarity, they develop individualistic behaviors, and they find alternative solutions for survival and protection.

Keywords:
Bangladeshis, decollectivization, immigrant work associations, low status services, representation

Le travail indépendant des immigrés et sa sociologie

by Alberto Riesco-Sanz

Publié dans/Publicado en: Desmarez, P.; Lanciano-Morandat, C.; Monchatre, S.; Stroobants, M. y Vatin, F. (Coord.), Temps, travail et salariat. Actualité de la pensée de Mateo Alaluf et Pierre Rolle, Octarès, Toulouse, pp. 57-66, 2012 [ISBN: 978-2-915346-95-4]

The governance of Romani people in Italy: discourse, policy and practice

by Nando Sigona

Sigona, N. (2011) 'The governance of Romani people in Italy: discourse, policy and practice', Journal of Modern Italian Studies, 16(5): 590-606

This article provides a critical overview of public policy and practice towards the Romani population in Italy over a... more This article provides a critical overview of public policy and practice towards the Romani population in Italy over a period of fifty years. It investigates the uses and consequences of the label ‘nomads’ and widespread essentialist assumptions about their alleged nomadic lifestyle, and the ambiguity embedded in policy which claims to solve the ‘Gypsy problem’. It explores in particular the ways in which recent political debate and policy initiatives have succeeded in reframing the Roma issue exclusively in terms of emergency and public security.
This discursive shift has produced the rescaling of the governance of Roma, relocating the responsibility for managing the Romani people from local authorities to central government. A significant corollary to this process has been the transfer of the Roma issue from the social policy agenda to a mere policing one, with important consequences in public policy, especially in relation to housing.

The Legal Adaptation of British Settlers in Turkey

by 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.

Migrants as Activist Citizens in the Crisis of Neoliberalism: Understanding the New Cycle of Struggles in Italy

by Federico Oliveri

draft under review for Citizenship Studies

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.