Material Culture and (Forced) Migration: Materializing the Transient

An innovative material culture perspective on migration research. Material Culture and (Forced) Migration argues that materiality is a fundamental dimension of migration. People take things with them, or they lose, find, and engage things along the way. Movements themselves are framed by objects such as borders, passports, tents, camp infrastructures, boats, and mobile phones. This volume brings together chapters on a broad range of movements–from forced migration and displacement to retirement migration. What ties the chapters together is their perspective of material culture.

Centering on four interconnected themes–temporality and materiality, methods of object-based migration research, the affective capacities of objects, and the engagement of things in place-making practices–the volume provides a material culture perspective for migration scholars around the globe, from a wide range of disciplines. The chapters’ focus on everyday objects and practices will appeal to all those interested in the tangible experiences of migration.