Narrating Migrations from Africa and the Middle East

Narrating Migrations from Africa and the Middle East: A Spatio-Temporal Approach


Exploring narratives produced by different groups of MENA and SSA migrants or refugees, this book focuses on the spatial and temporal aspects of their experiences. In doing so, the authors examine a wide range of accounts of journeys to host countries and memories (or recreations) of "home". The spaces that migrants occupy (or not) in their new country; the spaces and times they share with local populations; and different conceptions of space and time across generations are also investigated, as are how feelings surrounding space and time are manifested within these different narratives and their affective-discursive practices. Taking both a traditional, linear view of migration as well as a multilinear, multimodal approach, the book presents an in-depth investigation into the ways in which people inhabit multiple real and digital spaces.

Review: This collection pushes the reader to think of migration experiences as a complex crossing of space and time. It offers analysed-in-depth and thought-provoking insights on migration narratives, applying the most relevant current theories of space and time. -- Mikhail Epstein, Emory University, USA
Putting together studies of narratives told by migrants who hail from many different locations in Africa and the Arab world, the editors of this fascinating volume productively unsettle traditional understandings of the role of time and space in narrative, while opening our eyes on both the richness and the trauma that accompany migration experiences. -- Anna De Fina, Georgetown University, USA