How Qualitative Social Network Analysis Can Offer New Opportunities in Migration Research

Interdisciplinary Workshop

Aims of the Workshop
In recent years there has been increasing work on social network analysis (SNA) in relation to migration research, especially with a focus on qualitative methods. On the one hand, the application of qualitative techniques has brought fundamental advances in the field of SNA (Herz et al. 2014, Tubaro et al. 2016). New scholarship using Qualitative SNA has enabled researchers to gain a deeper understanding of how migration impacts on social ties both in the new destination country and transnationally, the resources that migrants can access and share through these ties and how such relationships may change over time (Lubbers et al. 2010, Bilecen 2013, Dahinden 2013, Mazzucato et al. 2017, Ryan & D’Angelo 2017). This has led to new theorizing going beyond simple binaries and static views of relationality in place (Ryan 2011, 2016).
On the other hand, social network analysis has the potential to rectify important epistemological pitfalls of migration research. An increasing number of migration scholars have been calling for more reflexivity within migration research. Prominent targets of criticism are nation-state and ethnicity-centred epistemologies that often inform empirical research on migration and mobility as well as the theoretical conclusions drawn from it (Crawley & Skleparis 2017, Dahinden 2016, Favell 2016, Korteweg 2017, Sigona 2017). Applying the methods and concepts of social network analysis helps to overcome these pitfalls. Social network analysis permits not only to grasp the structure of networks but also to understand the role that migration, transnationality and ethnicity play within these networks and how they interact with other structuring forces like migration regimes, social class, education or gender.
Building upon but also extending that scholarship, this workshop aims to consider how SNA gives us new opportunities to approach migration research differently. The contributions will all discuss these crucial issues.

Participation is free. Please register for the event until
February 28 by e-mail to: maelle.redois@unine.ch

Veranstaltung übernehmen als iCal