Leaving Spain
A Biographical Study of an Economic Crisis and New Beginnings
Mê-Linh Riemann
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Monograph - free ebook - PDF
VIEW Monograph - free ebook - ePUB VIEW Monograph - paperbackLife histories and experiences of Spanish migrants
Since the beginning of the economic crisis of 2008, Spain, like other southern European countries, has witnessed a mass departure of mostly young people looking for opportunities abroad. Leaving Spain is based on 58 autobiographical narrative interviews with recent Spanish migrants who went to the UK and Germany, and sometimes returned. By presenting a combination of in-depth case studies and comparative analyses, the author demonstrates the potential of biographical research and narrative analysis in studying contemporary Europe, including its overlapping crises. The scope of the sociological study is not limited to examining how those who left Spain experienced single phases of their migration. Instead, it focuses on the significance of migration projects in the context of their life histories and how they make sense of these experiences in retrospect.
This book will not only be of great interest to social scientists and students in different disciplines and interdisciplinary studies such as sociology, anthropology, human geography, European studies, education, and social work, but also to professionals, European and national policy makers, and those interested in learning more about migrants’ experiences, perspectives, and (often invisible) contributions.
This publication is GPRC-labeled (Guaranteed Peer-Reviewed Content).
"I hope
this book will give readers unique and novel insights into the south-north
movement in the context of the economic crisis, and how it evolved over the
course of the past decade."
Read a Q&A with Mê-Linh Riemann
Acknowledgements
1. Introduction
2. Mapping the Field
Phases of EU mobility: a timeline
Zooming in on the Spanish case
Taking on a biographical perspective
3. Biographical Case Studies
Adam Sanchez
María Navarro
Mateo López
Where to go from here?
4. Time to go?
‘Going abroad’ in the context of one’s academic training
Withstanding a collective mood of demoralisation
Trying to overcome a prolonged period of dependency and stagnation
Trying to cope with or escape from a trajectory of suffering
In search of professional recognition and adequate pay
Acquiring foreign language skills in order to gain a competitive advantage
5. On Studying and Working Abroad
Exchange programmes as pathways into a long-term stay
Alternatives to wage labour
‘Unskilled’ labour?
Skilled labour
Voluntary work
6. A Web of Social Relationships
On working to maintain personal ties to Spain
The emergence of new social relationships in the receiving society
Spaces of transition
Perceived barriers in everyday interactions
7. Established-Outsider Relations in Times of Brexit
The case of Diego
Looking beyond the single case
A note on the recent political developments
8. An Uneasy Homecoming
Returning as an answer to what?
Moving ‘back’: expectations vs. reality
9. Conclusion
A brief overview of my findings
Addressing different audiences
Looking back and looking ahead
10. Methodological Appendix
A note on biographical research
The autobiographical narrative interview and procedures of sequential analysis
The history of my field research
Data overview
Consent form
Notes
References
Index
Format: Monograph - free ebook - PDF
320 pages
ISBN: 9789461664495
Publication: April 07, 2022
Languages: English
Download: https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/53765
This is a lovely book, full of very rich stories. I particularly appreciate that the specific research questions guiding the main empirical chapters emerged out of three biographical case studies. In other words, people’s lives come first and analysis follows. It is a novel way of exploring how the macro takes shape in the micro. - Karen O’Reilly, Loughborough University
Leaving Spain fills in a huge blank in the knowledge we have of the phenomenon under study and is very valuable for the originality of its research project's design as well as for the rigor of its analyses. The case studies are wonderfully human, the analysis is mostly formulated in accessible language, the writing is clear and convincing.
Daniel Bertaux
In a debated field such as migration, the work of Mê-Linh Riemann
is very important in showing which conditions can actually lead to the
migration of young middle-class educated people, the conditions they find upon
arrival, how they find work, learn the local language, associate with others,
eventually decide to return or continue on abroad. I would definitely use
this text in my courses on biographical research, migration studies, and
qualitative-interpretive methods, for undergraduate, graduate and PhD students.
Lena
Inowlocki, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main