Abstract

JIMENEZ ZUNINO, Cecilia Inés. Methodological tools to explore international migration in social inequality scenarios. Rev. colomb. soc. [online]. 2021, vol.44, n.1, pp.289-315.  Epub Nov 24, 2021. ISSN 0120-159X.  https://doi.org/10.15446/rcs.v44n1.79002.

How to put into operation international migration research in a context of social inequality multiplication taking into account the singularity of these movements? This article aims at shedding light on the methodological aspects derived from considering migration as a total social fact (Sayad), in relation to a study on middle class Argentines in Spain. Two methodological devices - migratory projects and trajectories - are suggested to explore migration from its objective and subjective dimensions. On the objective side, migratory trajectories are rebuilt upon the integrity of social mechanisms and conditioning, that position migrants in the country of origin as well as in the country of destination, regarding their living and working conditions, among other aspects.

On the other hand, on the subjective side, the concept of migratory project implies integrating in migration analysis the assessment that migrant make of the available resources, based on their representation of their position in the social space. This subjective dimension allows to rebuild the sense that migrants think of themselves in the context of classificatory schemes (in origin and destination settings) and to guide the adoption of certain practices when deciding on migrating. It also allows to analyze the redefinition of these projects after having a trajectory in the social space of destination, particularly regarding the timeframes that subjects consider when deciding whether to stay, return, or migrate again.

By studying the social trajectories between the two social spaces (origin and destination), it is possible to overcome positions of certain methodological nationalism while recognizing the role that Nation-States play in the creation of inequalities from initial positions generated by migration. By taking into account the structure of inequalities in the context of origin, it enables the visualization of migrant specific trajectory plotting in the context of destination, according to capital and dispositions that agents bring into their integration.

Descriptors: emigration, immigration, social class, social investigation, social mobility, sociology.

Keywords : Argentine migrants; double absence; inequality; middle classes; projects; symbolic strategies; trajectories; transnationalism.

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