
Agency and vulnerability in the field of immigration law : a linguistic-ethnographic perspective on lawyer-client interaction
- Author
- Marie Jacobs (UGent) and Katrijn Maryns (UGent)
- Organization
- Project
- Abstract
- Migrants are often perceived as a group of vulnerable victims, especially within a legal context such as the one in this study: lawyer-client consultations in the field of immigration law. The literature describes how institutional limitations often translate into asymmetric lawyer-client dynamics. The linguistic-ethnographic data gathered for this study shows, however, that the reality is more complex. In operationalizing the concept of agency, this study focuses on the dynamic-relational nature of power differences, which implies a move away from the binary conceptualization of structure and agency. The ethnographic lens helps to unpack agency and reveals a picture of strategic behaviour that is contextually embedded and multi-layered. In this light, the performance of agency and vulnerability is shown to be (1) interactionally achieved, (2) indicative of an awareness of macro-level processes, and (3) reflective of the philosophy behind the authorities' migration management.
- Keywords
- MIGRANT AGENCY, ASYLUM, NARRATIVES, MIGRATION, CARE, LANGUAGE, POLITICS, SEARCH, RIGHTS, POWER
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Citation
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication: http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-8754338
- MLA
- Jacobs, Marie, and Katrijn Maryns. “Agency and Vulnerability in the Field of Immigration Law : A Linguistic-Ethnographic Perspective on Lawyer-Client Interaction.” JOURNAL OF LAW AND SOCIETY, vol. 49, no. 3, 2022, pp. 542–66, doi:10.1111/jols.12385.
- APA
- Jacobs, M., & Maryns, K. (2022). Agency and vulnerability in the field of immigration law : a linguistic-ethnographic perspective on lawyer-client interaction. JOURNAL OF LAW AND SOCIETY, 49(3), 542–566. https://doi.org/10.1111/jols.12385
- Chicago author-date
- Jacobs, Marie, and Katrijn Maryns. 2022. “Agency and Vulnerability in the Field of Immigration Law : A Linguistic-Ethnographic Perspective on Lawyer-Client Interaction.” JOURNAL OF LAW AND SOCIETY 49 (3): 542–66. https://doi.org/10.1111/jols.12385.
- Chicago author-date (all authors)
- Jacobs, Marie, and Katrijn Maryns. 2022. “Agency and Vulnerability in the Field of Immigration Law : A Linguistic-Ethnographic Perspective on Lawyer-Client Interaction.” JOURNAL OF LAW AND SOCIETY 49 (3): 542–566. doi:10.1111/jols.12385.
- Vancouver
- 1.Jacobs M, Maryns K. Agency and vulnerability in the field of immigration law : a linguistic-ethnographic perspective on lawyer-client interaction. JOURNAL OF LAW AND SOCIETY. 2022;49(3):542–66.
- IEEE
- [1]M. Jacobs and K. Maryns, “Agency and vulnerability in the field of immigration law : a linguistic-ethnographic perspective on lawyer-client interaction,” JOURNAL OF LAW AND SOCIETY, vol. 49, no. 3, pp. 542–566, 2022.
@article{8754338, abstract = {{Migrants are often perceived as a group of vulnerable victims, especially within a legal context such as the one in this study: lawyer-client consultations in the field of immigration law. The literature describes how institutional limitations often translate into asymmetric lawyer-client dynamics. The linguistic-ethnographic data gathered for this study shows, however, that the reality is more complex. In operationalizing the concept of agency, this study focuses on the dynamic-relational nature of power differences, which implies a move away from the binary conceptualization of structure and agency. The ethnographic lens helps to unpack agency and reveals a picture of strategic behaviour that is contextually embedded and multi-layered. In this light, the performance of agency and vulnerability is shown to be (1) interactionally achieved, (2) indicative of an awareness of macro-level processes, and (3) reflective of the philosophy behind the authorities' migration management.}}, author = {{Jacobs, Marie and Maryns, Katrijn}}, issn = {{0263-323X}}, journal = {{JOURNAL OF LAW AND SOCIETY}}, keywords = {{MIGRANT AGENCY,ASYLUM,NARRATIVES,MIGRATION,CARE,LANGUAGE,POLITICS,SEARCH,RIGHTS,POWER}}, language = {{eng}}, number = {{3}}, pages = {{542--566}}, title = {{Agency and vulnerability in the field of immigration law : a linguistic-ethnographic perspective on lawyer-client interaction}}, url = {{http://doi.org/10.1111/jols.12385}}, volume = {{49}}, year = {{2022}}, }
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