Naiara Rodriguez-Pena
University of Kent, School of English, Graduate Student
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
This article examines social transformation and mobility dynamics in Caracaraí, a rural frontier town in the State of Roraima, Brazil, from the 1950s to the 1990s. During this short period, we observe a rapid diversification of migration... more
This article examines social transformation and mobility dynamics in Caracaraí, a rural frontier town in the State of Roraima, Brazil, from the 1950s to the 1990s. During this short period, we observe a rapid diversification of migration in Caracaraí: from nonmigratory mobility tied to the micro-scale extraction of local products to more-permanent settlement in town, rapid shifts in the direction of internal migration patterns and back to non-migratory mobility patterns again. Drawing from frontier migration studies and mobility transition theories, this paper adopts a social transformation perspective to explore the relation between social change and these mobility transitions. The changing role of the state, from a promoter of infrastructure to a provider of services and public employment, the restructuring of the local economic fabric and its reorientation towards more secondary and tertiary activities, and inhabitants’ imaginaries of the development potential of Caracaraí all ex...
Research Interests:
The aspiration-capability framework introduces four (im)mobility categories – mobility, voluntary immobility, involuntary immobility and acquiescent immobility – which have received considerable attention. However, few studies have... more
The aspiration-capability framework introduces four (im)mobility
categories – mobility, voluntary immobility, involuntary
immobility and acquiescent immobility – which have received
considerable attention. However, few studies have examined how
people move across such categories. Drawing on the migration
experiences of 17 self-identified Latin American gay individuals,
this paper shows how prospective migrants can be pushed into a
state of involuntary immobility by their families, and how they
can adapt to overcome immobility and fulfill their migration
aspirations. The article finds, firstly, that heteronormative values
and familial expectations regarding sexuality shape the possibility
of mobilizing the family’s economic, informative and emotional
resources. Secondly, I discuss the adaptation strategies that
individuals use to surpass involuntary immobility. To understand
movement across (im)mobility categories, as well as the role of
social boundaries for migration, this paper differentiates between
individual and collective migration aspirations and capabilities. In
doing so, the article introduces an approach to explore how
interactions between social groups and their individual group
members shape the (im)mobility projects of the latter.
categories – mobility, voluntary immobility, involuntary
immobility and acquiescent immobility – which have received
considerable attention. However, few studies have examined how
people move across such categories. Drawing on the migration
experiences of 17 self-identified Latin American gay individuals,
this paper shows how prospective migrants can be pushed into a
state of involuntary immobility by their families, and how they
can adapt to overcome immobility and fulfill their migration
aspirations. The article finds, firstly, that heteronormative values
and familial expectations regarding sexuality shape the possibility
of mobilizing the family’s economic, informative and emotional
resources. Secondly, I discuss the adaptation strategies that
individuals use to surpass involuntary immobility. To understand
movement across (im)mobility categories, as well as the role of
social boundaries for migration, this paper differentiates between
individual and collective migration aspirations and capabilities. In
doing so, the article introduces an approach to explore how
interactions between social groups and their individual group
members shape the (im)mobility projects of the latter.
Research Interests:
This article examines social transformation and mobility dynamics in Caracaraí, a rural frontier town in the State of Roraima, Brazil, from the 1950s to the 1990s. During this short period, we observe a rapid diversification of migration... more
This article examines social transformation and mobility dynamics in Caracaraí, a rural frontier town in the State of Roraima, Brazil, from the 1950s to the 1990s. During this short period, we observe a rapid diversification of migration in Caracaraí: from non-migratory mobility tied to the micro-scale extraction of local products to more-permanent settlement in town, rapid shifts in the direction of internal migration patterns and back to non-migratory mobility patterns again. Drawing from frontier migration studies and mobility transition theories, this paper adopts a social transformation perspective to explore the relation between social change and these mobility transitions. The changing role of the state, from a promoter of infrastructure to a provider of services and public employment, the restructuring of the local economic fabric and its reorientation towards more secondary and tertiary activities, and inhabitants’ imaginaries of the development potential of Caracaraí all explain the shift in migration processes. Investigating these processes, we observe that (i) the state promoted new opportunities, leading to a decline in traditional circular mobility, alongside the growth of temporal workers and spontaneous migrants; (ii) infrastructure advancements encouraged non-migratory mobility patterns between Caracaraí and Boa Vista, the capital city of the State of Roraima; (iii) the provision of public employment intensified internal rural-urban and urban-rural migration patterns, from communities in the interior of the State of Roraima to Caracaraí and vice versa, and (iv) development imaginaries – the perception of how Caracaraí should and could be in the near future – prevented voluminous emigration, during periods of socio-economic slowdown. This research highlights the meaningful role of the state in altering livelihoods and migration decision-making processes. In particular, it shows how state expansion framed cultural imaginaries of the ‘good life’, favouring the desire to stay put in periods of high economic uncertainty, even when life aspirations were not being met by local opportunities.