Dialectics of Transition: Subjectivity and Structure in African-European Migration

Knut Graw (University of Leuven and Zentrum Moderner Orient, Berlin)

Drawing on conversations and ethnographic research in Senegal and Spain, the paper deals with the expectations and experiences of labor migration between West Africa and Southern Europe. Making use of theoretical perspectives ranging from existential thought to political economy, the paper explores the complex interplay of subjectivity and structure in contemporary migratory transitions. Through the ethnography of individual migratory expectations, experiences, trajectories and conditions, the paper gradually develops an understanding of the dialectics of contemporary migration that is both existentially sensitive and critical.

Knut Graw (PhD) works at the Institute for Anthropological Research in Africa (IARA) and the Interculturalism, Minorities and Migration Research Centre (IMMRC) of the University of Leuven and, as associated researcher, at Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO), Berlin. He has conducted research on the sociocultural and existential significance of divinatory praxis in Senegal and Gambia. His current research focuses on the situation of Senegalese migrants in Southern Europe and the cultural dynamics and transfers in the African-European borderzone. His theoretical interests reach from ritual analysis and migration theory to ethnographic phenomenology and globalization studies.

Time: 23 March, 13.15-15.00
Venue: Uni Rokkansenteret, Nygårdsgaten 5, 6th Floor