Moving Subjects, Moving Objects: Transnationalism, Cultural Production and Emotions (Material Mediations: People and Things in a World of Movement Book 1)

In recent years an increasing number of scholars have incorporated a focus on emotions in their theories of material culture, transnationalism and globalization, and this book aims to contribute to this field of inquiry. It examines how ‘emotions’ can be theorized, and serves as a useful analytical tool for understanding the interrelated mobility of humans, objects and images. Ethnographically rich, and theoretically grounded case studies offer new perspectives on the relations between migration, material culture and emotions. While some chapters address the many different ways in which migrants and migrant artists express their emotions through objects and images in transnational contexts, other chapters focus on how particular works of art, everyday objects and artefacts can evoke feelings specific to particular migrant groups and communities. Case studies also analyse how artists, academics and policy makers can stimulate positive interaction between migrants and non-migrant communities. Contents List of Figures and Tables Acknowledgements Introduction. Affective Moves: Transit, Transition and Transformation 1 Materiality, Memories and Emotions: A View on Migration from a Street in South London 2 The Objects of Christmas: The Politics of Festive Materiality in the Lives of Polish Immigrants 3 From Shop to Chapel: The Changing Emotional Efficacy of the Statue of the Virgin Mary of El Rocío within a Spanish Community in Belgium 4 Sweater Business: Commodity Exchange and the Mediation of Agency in the Tibetan Itinerant Sweater Trade in India 5 Moving Tamils, Moving Amulets: Creating Self-identity, Belonging and Emotional Well-being 6 The Price of Progress: ‘Dying Arts’ among the Karen of the Andaman Islands, India 7 Artefacts as Mediators through Time and Space: The Reproduction of Roots in the Diaspora of Lussignani 8 Making Connections: Biography, Art, Affect and Politics 9 Crossing Borders: Migration, Memory and the Artist’s Book 10 The Emotions and Ethnicity in the Indo-Caribbean 11 ‘What You Perceive Is What You Conceive’: Evaluating Subjects and Objects through Emotions Notes on Contributors Index Most theories of material culture, transnationalism, and globalization have failed to incorporate a focus on emotions even though an increasing number of scholars in recent years have explored emotion-dense processes. This book fills the gap and examines how emotions can be theorized and serve as a useful analytical tool for understanding the interrelated mobility of humans, objects, and images. Through diverse, ethnographically rich and theoretically grounded case studies, these chapters offer new perspectives that relate migration, material culture, and emotions by addressing: the ways in which migrants and migrant artists express their emotions through objects and images in transnational contexts; the ways in which particular works of art, everyday objects, and artifacts evoke specific feelings in migrants and members of migrant communities; and the ways in which artists, academics, and policy makers may stimulate positive interaction between migrants and members of local communities. -- Provided by publisher