Global Migration Social Change And Cultural Transformation

The essays in this collection work toward a larger goal of separating 'globalization' from strictly economic considerations. The authors instead look at globalization as a force that produces profound social and cultural consequences, including migration, struggles for social change, and the transformations of aesthetic practices.

This book examines theories and specific experiences of international migration and social transformation, with special reference to the effects of neo-liberal globalization on four societies with vastly different historical and cultural characteristics: South Korea, Australia, Turkey and Mexico.

In the space of around ten years Ireland went from being a traditional labour exporter to a leading European economy, and thus an attractive destination for immigrants from Eastern Europe and further afield. This produced a singular social laboratory, which this book explores in all its complexity set against the backdrop of globalization. Until recently seen as a showcase for the success of globalization, Ireland also became a destination for those displaced by the effects of globalization elsewhere. Globalization, Migration and Social Transformation takes Ireland as a paradigmatic case of social transformation, exploring the reasons why emigration was so rapidly replaced by immigration, along with the social, political, cultural and economic effects of this shift. Presenting the latest research around the themes of identity, social transformations and EU and Irish politics and policy, this book offers a rich array of detailed empirical case studies drawn from Ireland, which shed light on the experiences of immigrant groups from around the world and the wider processes of social transformation. In addition, it examines the manner in which the Irish state and the broader political system relate to new migrants and vice-versa, thus advancing our comparative understanding of how the European Union is responding to the challenge of mass migration. Globalization, Migration and Social Transformation makes a strong contribution to the comparative literature on immigration and integration, diaspora and social transformation in the era of globalization, and as such, it will appeal to social scientists with interests in migration, race and ethnicity, globalization and Irish studies.

During the last decade, contemporary German and Austrian cinema has grappled with new social and economic realities. The “cinema of consensus,” a term coined to describe the popular and commercially oriented filmmaking of the 1990s, has given way to a more heterogeneous and critical cinema culture. Making the greatest artistic impact since the 1970s, contemporary cinema is responding to questions of globalization and the effects of societal and economic change on the individual. This book explores this trend by investigating different thematic and aesthetic strategies and alternative methods of film production and distribution. Functioning both as a product and as an agent of globalizing processes, this new cinema mediates and influences important political and social debates. The contributors illuminate these processes through their analyses of cinema’s intervention in discourses on such concepts as “national cinema,” the effects of globalization on social mobility, and the emergence of a “global culture.” The essays illustrate the variety and inventiveness of contemporary Austrian and German filmmaking and highlight the complicated interdependencies between global developments and local specificities. They confirm a broader trend toward a more complex, critical, and formally diverse cinematic scene. This book offers insights into the strategies employed by German and Austrian filmmakers to position themselves between the commercial pressures of the film industry and the desire to mediate or even attempt to affect social change. It will be of interest to scholars in film studies, cultural studies, and European studies.

The volume presents a unique cross-section of contemporary research in the broad field of migration and exile studies. Its particular focus is on the manner in which ideas, methodologies, scholarship and innovation, developed in German-speaking Europe, were transferred to Britain and the USA after 1933. The transformative effect of this exodus of talent upon the host cultures, and the corresponding impact of the host cultures upon the refugees, helped produce the groundbreaking work of German-speaking refugees in diverse areas. The essays include surveys of the contributions of exiles to academic disciplines and to art and design, and fresh examinations of the work of prominent refugees like Wittgenstein, as well as less well known figures such as Nina Rubinstein and Gaby Schreiber.

Culture plays a central role in our understanding of migration as an economic phenomenon. This title emphasises on the distinctions in culture between migrants, the families they left behind, and the local population in the migration destination.

The contributions of this book examine contemporary dynamics of migration and mobility in the context of the general societal transformations that have taken place in Europe over the past few decades. The book will help readers to better understand the manifold ways in which migration trends in the region are linked to changing political-economic constellations, orders of power and inequality, and political discourses. It begins with an introduction to a number of theoretical approaches that address the nexus between migration and general societal shifts, including processes of supranationalisation, EU enlargement, postsocialist transformations and rescaling. It then provides a comprehensive overview of the political regulation of migration through border control and immigration policies. The contributions that follow detail the dynamic changes of individual migration patterns and their implications for the agency of mobile individuals. The final part challenges the reader to consider how policies and practices of migration are linked to symbolic struggles over belonging and rights, describing a wide range of expressions of such conflicts, from cosmopolitanism to racism and xenophobia. This book is aimed at researchers in various fields of the social sciences and can be used as course reading for undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate courses in the areas of international migration, transnational and European studies. It will be a beneficial resource for scholars looking for material on the most current conceptual tools for analysis of the nexus of migration and societal transformation in Europe.

Long-term migration is one of the most important factors in the formation of cultural identities in the modern world. Immigrant communities are usually studied in the context of the country people have migrated to; Katy Gardner, however, looks at the neglected `sending' side of the equation. In the sending communities, out-migration has become a central economic and social resource - the route to social, as well as physical, mobility, transforming those who gain access to it. Dr Gardner examines the cultural context and effects of the long-term migration from Bangladesh to Britain and the Middle East, drawing on her fieldwork in the Sylhet district,an area of exceptional migration. Major aspects of Bangledeshi life such as land, family structure, marriage and religion - all of which have been affected by the heavy out-migration - are covered in detail, and the transformation of the social structure is mapped. In focusing on local ideology, this book shows how local cultural meanings are constantly negotiated and contested by different groups in the context of rapid economic change. At the heart of this important contribution to the anthropology of migration is a presentation of the dynamic nature of migration and the concomitant possibility of self-transformation it holds for migrant cultures.