Abstract

LEVITT, Peggy. A Transnational Gaze. Migr. Inter [online]. 2011, vol.6, n.1, pp. 9-44. ISSN 1665-8906.

In the decade since this journal was founded, major demographic shifts caused shifts in migration studies. Against this backdrop, the questions migration scholars ask and the analytical and methodological tools we use to answer them have changed dramatically. In this essay, I take an idiosyncratic look at these developments and propose directions for the future. I focus on the analytical rewards of using a transnational perspective to study migration, on the importance of considering space and scale in our work, and on bringing culture more centrally back into our conversations. I highlight opportunities at interdisciplinary intersections that, can move our field forward in new productive directions if we take advantage of them.

Keywords : transnational; scale; migration; simultaneity; immigration.