While the subject of migration has received enormous attention in academic journals and books across the social sciences, introductory texts on the matter are few and far between. Even fewer books have explored migration through a critical and explicit engagement with spatial concepts.
Now in its second edition, Migration remains the only text in more than a decade that emphasizes how geographical or spatial concepts can be used critically to understand migration. The multi-disciplinary text draws on insights from human geography, political science, social anthropology, sociology, and to a lesser extent economics. All of the chapters focus on key terms, theories, concepts, and issues concerning migration and immigration. The book argues that in the context of migration, two opposing ‘spatial positions’ have emerged in the wake of the critique of ‘methodological nationalism’. On one hand is the significance of ‘transnationalism’, and on the other, the importance of ‘sub-national’ or local processes. Both require more nuance and integration, while many of the concepts and theories which have thus far neglected space or have not been ‘treated’ spatially, need to be re-written with space in mind. Pedagogically the text combines a carefully defined structure, accessible language, boxes that explore case studies of migrant-related experiences in particular places, annotated suggestions for further reading, useful websites and relevant films and summary questions for student learning at the end of each chapter.
Migration provides a critical, multi-disciplinary, advanced, and theoretically informed introduction to migration and immigration. Revised and updated with new material, new maps and illustrations and an accompanying website (https://migration2ndedition.wordpress.com/), it continues to be aimed at advanced undergraduates and Masters-level graduate students undertaking courses on migration and immigration.
Table of Contents:
List of figures
List of maps
List of tables
List of boxes
Preface for students
Preface for instructors
Acknowledgements
1 Introduction
2 Explaining migration across international borders: determinist theories
3 Explaining migration across international borders: integrative theories
4 Geo-political economies of migration control
5 Geographies of migration, work, and settlement
6 Geographies of migration, citizenship and belonging
7 Conclusions
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
About the Author :
Michael Samers is Associate Professor of Geography at the University of Kentucky, USA. His research interests include the urban and economic dimensions of migration, as well as international finance. He is the co-author with Noel Castree, Neil Coe, and Kevin Ward of Spaces of Work: Global Capitalism and Geographies of Labour.
Michael Collyer is Professor of Geography at the University of Sussex, UK and has held visiting positions at universities in Egypt, Morocco, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and the USA. He is primarily a political geographer with research interests in the politics of mobility. He is editor of Emigration Nations: Policies and Ideologies of Emigrant Engagement.
Review :
'International migration is a momentous and complex phenomenon, affecting millions of people in sending and receiving countries alike. The mediatized movement of people across borders has been a source of anxiety for many societies, as is witnessed by the world-wide rise of populist, anti-immigration politics. In such a juncture, there is a desperate need for reliable academic knowledge and insights. Migration written by two internationally acclaimed scholars provides a timely and carefully written overview of the state-of-the-art in this field. A must read book for anyone interesting in understanding our globalizing world.'
Prof. Dr. Jan Rath, Professor of Sociology, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
'Samer's and Collyer's text is a masterly tour de force, reviewing theories of migration, employment, citizenship and belonging. Wonderfully comprehensive yet engagingly accessible, it will become key reading for all students of migration across the social sciences.'
Professor Linda McDowell, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, UK
'This is a timely edition and a tour de force. Collyer and Samers answer the key questions about the dynamics of international migration, the incorporation of migrants and their descendants in host societies, markets and polities as well as the policies that are likely to affect these phenomena. They do so by a stimulating analysis of cutting edge research across social science disciplines. The book convincingly shows the contribution of geography and spatial concepts to the understanding of international mobility, its causes and consequences.'
Virginie Guiraudon, Research Director at the Sciences Po Center for European Studies, France
'International Migration is both a transnational movement that span state borders and a local phenomenon that imbues the everyday experience of people. Collyer and Samers propose a comprehensive and much-needed outlook of the different migration theories. They masterfully elicit the complex mechanics of international migrations and compellingly use the tools of geography to hold together the different scales and facets of migration processes. Migration is a must-read for students and scholars of migration.'
Thomas Lacroix, CNRS Research Fellow, Co-director of Migrinter, University of Poitiers, France
