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Cosmologies and migration : on worldviews and their influence on mobility and immobility

Milena Belloni (UGent)
Author
Organization
Abstract
This article argues that the concept of 'cosmologies of destinations' is a useful theoretical tool to provide an emic understanding of the social and moral meanings of migrants' journeys. By this concept, I refer to the hierarchical representations of the world that orient migration journeys. Drawing from my multi-sited ethnography with Eritreans at home and abroad, I illustrate how migration destinations were mapped by my informants along an implicit but widely shared normative and moral scale, with different levels of perceived safety, individual freedom, social recognition and economic achievements. After charting the theoretical field concerning social imaginaries and cultures of migration, I show the importance of symbolic and moral structures for understanding my informants' mobility choices at different stages of their migration process. I conclude by highlighting the potential of this concept to study the interplay of mobility and immobility, particularly in the framework of increasing constraints.
Keywords
Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous), Cultural Studies, Anthropology, Cosmologies, mobility and immobility, moralities, imaginaries, culture of migration, journeys, TRAJECTORIES, IMAGINATION, MIGRANTS, FUTURES, MIGR

Citation

Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:

MLA
Belloni, Milena. “Cosmologies and Migration : On Worldviews and Their Influence on Mobility and Immobility.” IDENTITIES-GLOBAL STUDIES IN CULTURE AND POWER, vol. 29, no. 5, 2022, pp. 557–75, doi:10.1080/1070289x.2020.1748357.
APA
Belloni, M. (2022). Cosmologies and migration : on worldviews and their influence on mobility and immobility. IDENTITIES-GLOBAL STUDIES IN CULTURE AND POWER, 29(5), 557–575. https://doi.org/10.1080/1070289x.2020.1748357
Chicago author-date
Belloni, Milena. 2022. “Cosmologies and Migration : On Worldviews and Their Influence on Mobility and Immobility.” IDENTITIES-GLOBAL STUDIES IN CULTURE AND POWER 29 (5): 557–75. https://doi.org/10.1080/1070289x.2020.1748357.
Chicago author-date (all authors)
Belloni, Milena. 2022. “Cosmologies and Migration : On Worldviews and Their Influence on Mobility and Immobility.” IDENTITIES-GLOBAL STUDIES IN CULTURE AND POWER 29 (5): 557–575. doi:10.1080/1070289x.2020.1748357.
Vancouver
1.
Belloni M. Cosmologies and migration : on worldviews and their influence on mobility and immobility. IDENTITIES-GLOBAL STUDIES IN CULTURE AND POWER. 2022;29(5):557–75.
IEEE
[1]
M. Belloni, “Cosmologies and migration : on worldviews and their influence on mobility and immobility,” IDENTITIES-GLOBAL STUDIES IN CULTURE AND POWER, vol. 29, no. 5, pp. 557–575, 2022.
@article{8684608,
  abstract     = {{This article argues that the concept of 'cosmologies of destinations' is a useful theoretical tool to provide an emic understanding of the social and moral meanings of migrants' journeys. By this concept, I refer to the hierarchical representations of the world that orient migration journeys. Drawing from my multi-sited ethnography with Eritreans at home and abroad, I illustrate how migration destinations were mapped by my informants along an implicit but widely shared normative and moral scale, with different levels of perceived safety, individual freedom, social recognition and economic achievements. After charting the theoretical field concerning social imaginaries and cultures of migration, I show the importance of symbolic and moral structures for understanding my informants' mobility choices at different stages of their migration process. I conclude by highlighting the potential of this concept to study the interplay of mobility and immobility, particularly in the framework of increasing constraints.}},
  author       = {{Belloni, Milena}},
  issn         = {{1070-289X}},
  journal      = {{IDENTITIES-GLOBAL STUDIES IN CULTURE AND POWER}},
  keywords     = {{Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous),Cultural Studies,Anthropology,Cosmologies,mobility and immobility,moralities,imaginaries,culture of migration,journeys,TRAJECTORIES,IMAGINATION,MIGRANTS,FUTURES,MIGR}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{5}},
  pages        = {{557--575}},
  title        = {{Cosmologies and migration : on worldviews and their influence on mobility and immobility}},
  url          = {{http://doi.org/10.1080/1070289x.2020.1748357}},
  volume       = {{29}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}

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