Theorizing Polish migration across Europe: perspectives, concepts, and methodologies Cover Image

Theorizing Polish migration across Europe: perspectives, concepts, and methodologies
Theorizing Polish migration across Europe: perspectives, concepts, and methodologies

Author(s): Elżbieta M. Goździak, Marek Pawlak
Subject(s): Social Sciences, Sociology, Migration Studies
Published by: Instytut Slawistyki Polskiej Akademii Nauk
Keywords: Polish migration; ‘liquid migration’; ‘regimes of mobility; transnationalism; multi-sited ethnography

Summary/Abstract: With the focus on the post-2004 mobility of Polish citizens, in this article we discuss two interrelated questions; namely, what are the most productive ways to theorize contemporary Polish migration, and what are the most fruitful methodologies aimed at understanding Polish migration and Poles on the move? In the first part of this article we unpack three interrelated theoretical frameworks: ‘liquid migration’, ‘regimes of mobility,’ and ‘transnationalism’. The methodological discussion in the second part of the article focuses mainly on outlining and contextualizing the most common approaches to migration phenomena. By critically introducing quantitative and qualitative methodologies, we explore and indicate the advantages of the ethnographic perspective and the merits and predicaments of research engagement in multiple sites.

  • Issue Year: 2016
  • Issue No: 48
  • Page Range: 106-127
  • Page Count: 22
  • Language: English