Class, Intersectionality and Collective Action: Rethinking the Study of Migrants Political Engagements

This paper addresses issues of class-based collective action. Through an ethnographic case study examining migrant workers’ collective agency, the paper discusses the current relevance of this type of action and the significance that culture, identity and intersectionality seem to play in it. Through the case study the paper also questions accounts of class engagements and trade unionism as a thing of the past. This paper intends to contribute to the development of the ‘new sociology of class’, an emerging strand within the discipline that has begun to explore the identity and cultural dimension of class. In particular, this paper aims to broaden its scope beyond the individual to include the collective and contentious dimension of class and its intersectional interplay with ethnicity. Moreover, building on the new sociology of class the paper develops a critique of social movements studies’ representation of class politics.