Theorizing Migration in Anthropology

Abstract

This chapter elucidates the anthropological approach to migration, beginning with a brief review of research methods. This is followed by a discussion of the formulation of typologies, as well as theories of articulation between sending and receiving societies that includes a discussion of the critical concepts of transnationalism and the “culture of migration.” The chapter then turns to a discussion of the relational and gendered dimensions of migration and settlement before turning to an exploration of race and ethnicity, identity, citizenship and belonging, and the role of governmentality and the state in the lives of immigrants. Throughout, the chapter situates theorizing about migration in relation to broader theoretical frameworks within anthropology (political economy, feminist anthropology); in relation to a few important subfields of cultural anthropology (e.g., medical anthropology); and in relation to concepts and approaches in other disciplines. The range of topics explored within the anthropology of migration, not all of which can be treated here, reflect the breadth of the discipline itself.

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