047 Alternative Mobilities of Immigrants and their Descendants in Europe

Wednesday, March 28, 2018: 4:00 PM-5:45 PM
Streeterville West (InterContinental Chicago Magnificent Mile)
The panel addresses new forms of mobility of first- and second-generation migrants in Europe. Scholars of migrant transnationalism have extensively researched the links between a migrant’s country of residence and her home country, expressed for example through sending remittances, regular return visits or contacts in the home country. This literature has also documented an intergenerational decline of transnationalism. However, both first generation immigrants and their descendants might engage in alternative forms of mobility or transnationalism that are not limited to the (ancestral) home country. Particularly in Europe, where citizens as well as permanent residence holders have the right to freedom of movement and where distances between countries are short, we can expect the development of alternative forms of mobilities. The papers in this panel thus assess various forms of mobilities and transnational practices of first-and second-generation migrants in Europe, focusing on the locations, motives and consequences of transnationalism. The panel will address questions such as
  • How do mobility practices differ between countries and ethnic or social groups?
  • What are the motives as well as consequences of new forms of mobility?
  • How are new forms of mobility linked to (transnational) integration or identification?
  • What are appropriate methods to assess new forms of mobilities?

The presentations rely on various methods to assess different facets of new mobilities of migrants in Europe, and focus on the process of onward migration, subjective evaluations of one’s social position in transnational space, and differences in transnational practices across different ethnic groups and immigrant generations.

Chair:
Christine Barwick
Discussant :
Sorana Toma
Transnational Mobility and Social Positions in the European Union: The Role of Social Comparison
Thomas Faist, Bielefeld University; Joanna Sienkiewicz, Bielefeld University; Inka Stock, Bielefeld University
Transnational Social Relations: A Comparison between First and Second Generation Migrants and the Autochthonous Population
Julia H. Schroedter, University of Zurich; Jörg Rössel, University of Zurich; Ilona Susanna Pap, University of Zurich
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