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Migration Research Through the Lens of Family

In this master class we draw on literature on transnational families and on internal domestic migration to consider the intellectual rationale for taking the ‘family’ as the unit of analysis in migration studies research. We especially consider the ways in which a family lens reveals the gendered and intergenerational relationships that sustain wider migration regimes. We further explore the opportunities and the practical and ethical challenges of conducting research in spatially dispersed families, and potential ways to deal with these.  Finally, we reflect on the ways in which family and migration are changing in the light of the digitization of money, communications, and aspirations and how these may inform evolving agendas for future research.

Suggested Reading:

1. Gan, Y. 2023. ‘Choreographing digital love’, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 28 (3) https://doi.org/10.1093/jcmc/zmad006
2. Kaur, R., Shruti, I. (2016). Mobile Technology and “Doing Family” in a Global World: Indian Migrants in Cambodia. In: Lim, S. (eds) Mobile Communication and the Family. Mobile Communication in Asia: Local Insights, Global Implications. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-7441-3_5
3. Kusimba, S., Yang, Y., and Chawla, N. 2016. ‘Hearthholds of mobile money in western Kenya.’Economic Anthropology 3 (2): 266-279. https://doi.org/10.1002/sea2.12055
4. Madianou, M. 2016. ‘Ambient co-presence: transnational family practices in polymedia environments.’ Global Networks 16 (2): 183-201 https://doi.org/10.1111/glob.12105
5. Murphy, R. 2020. ‘Skipped Generation Families’ in The Children of China’s Great Migration, Cambridge University Press.

Discussion:

In the discussion, participants are invited to share their thoughts, no matter how preliminary, on whether or how their own migration projects engage with the idea of family, and to share their emerging research question.

How does your potential project take account of recent rapid technological transformations?

How does context affect both ideas of family and the technological ecosystem in which your research participants ‘do family’?

What are some of the methods you might use to conduct the research?