Abstract
Coming at a time when migration has again risen to the top of the media and political agendas worldwide, this edited collection provides a welcome examination of a range of case studies from Europe, the Americas and the Middle East. Drawing on a variety of theoretical and methodological perspectives rooted in discourse studies, the contributions unpack the relationship between migration and discourse, showing how the latter becomes involved in shaping the reality of migration policies, the general public’s perception of migration and the lives of migrants themselves. The authors adopt a critical approach, seeking to problematize the taken for granted ways of representing migration and showing how they contribute to the perpetuation of exclusion, inequality, dominance and privilege. The volume opens with two studies that zoom in on the relationship between migrants and borders: Nicholas De Genova discusses the ‘border spectacle’ of the US immigration regime, and Marco Bruno investigates the media coverage of ‘landing emergencies’ in Italy. This is followed by a set of articles that examine the discourses surrounding particular racialized groups, across a variety of cultural and political contexts: Muslims in Ireland (James Carr), Muslim, Middle Eastern and South Asian immigrants in the United States (Autumn M. Reed), Muslims in Finland (Tuuli Lähdesmäki and Tuija Saresma), second-generation Irish migrants returning from Britain (Sara Hannafin), irregular migrants in Ireland and the United States (Elaine Burroughs), European Union (EU) migrants in Ireland (Martin J. Power and colleagues) and Roma communities in Ireland (Aileen Marron and colleagues). Another set of contributions examines the significance of music, dance and art as discourse, investigating cases such as the role of Salsa music in generating a ‘pan-Latin’ identity among Latin American migrants in Israel (Moshe Morad), the contribution of music to the establishment of a distinct identity for Greek Cypriot migrants in Britain (Michalis Poupazis) and the portrayal of migration in a bi-national museum exhibition produced by four institutions in France and Germany (Yannik Porsché). To those familiar with existing work on discourse and migration, the broad conclusions reached by the different studies will bring few surprises. That said, the collection should be commended for the wide geographical coverage and the range of disciplinary and methodological approaches used, which offers readers a solid basis for reflecting on the state of migration and discourse in the contemporary world.