Abstract

Grounded in scholarly analysis and personal reflection, and drawing on a multi-sited and multi-method research design, Momentous Mobilities disentangles the meanings attached to temporary travels and stays abroad and offers empirical evidence as well as novel theoretical arguments to develop an anthropology of mobility. Both focusing specifically on how various societies and cultures imagine and value boundary-crossing mobilities “elsewhere” and drawing heavily on his own European lifeworld, the author examines momentous travels abroad in the context of education, work, and spiritual quests and the search for a better quality of life.

Noel B. Salazar is Research Professor in Anthropology at the University of Leuven. He is the author of Envisioning Eden (Berghahn, 2010) and numerous journal articles, book chapters, and edited volumes on the anthropology of mobility and travel. He is the founder of Cultural Mobilities Research (CuMore) and the EASA Anthropology and Mobility Network (AnthroMob).

“This book helps broaden the discussion of mobility that is so often focused on migration or diaspora. With its emphasis on the relationship between mobility and ‘staying’ or immobility, it also offers a useful corrective to the literature that privileges mobility.” • Deborah Reed-Danahay, University at Buffalo

“A fascinating read… Salazar skillfully explores the cultural meanings attached to movement, considering both the individual significance of boundary crossings and their social valuations. The in-depth knowledge of multiple case studies from other societies and diverse contexts of education, work and pilgrimage enlivens the work, while his personal and first-hand reflections of how movement has featured within his own biography feed his musings to generate a highly readable account.” • Caroline Oliver, University of Roehampton