Lost in transnationalism: Unraveling the conceptualisation of families and personal life through a transnational gaze

Sue Heath, Derek Mcghee, Paulina Trevena

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

23 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This paper compares and contrasts some of the conceptual language used to engage with the realm of family and personal life within the parallel fields of transnational family studies (TFS) and British family studies (BFS). Key concepts which are now widely referenced within BFS - such as 'family practices', 'family display', 'families of choice' and 'connectedness' - have not been widely drawn upon within TFS. Instead, TFS scholars are developing alternative concepts such as 'ways of being' versus 'ways of belonging' and 'frontiering and relativising', often to capture very similar ideas to those current within BFS. This paper critically explores some of the concepts currently being used within transnational family studies, highlighting points of similarity and difference with the BFS tradition, and considers what these parallel literatures might learn from each other. The paper is illustrated by examples drawn from ESRCfunded research on the experiences of post-accession Polish migrants living in the UK.

Original languageEnglish
JournalSociological Research Online
Volume16
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2 Dec 2011

Keywords

  • Connectedness
  • Family display
  • Family practices
  • Polish migration
  • Transnationalism

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Lost in transnationalism: Unraveling the conceptualisation of families and personal life through a transnational gaze'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this