Anthropology and migration : essays on transnationalism, ethnicity, and identity

Brettell's book provides new insight into the processes of migration and transnationalism from an anthropological perspective.

It has been estimated that 160 million people are living outside of their country of birth or citizenship: Brettell analyzes macro and micro approaches to migration theory, using her extensive fieldwork in Portugal as well as research in Germany, Brazil, France, the USA and Canada.

Key issues she discusses include: the value of immigrant incorporation vs. assimilation models, the impacts on individual, household and community, institutions and states, the role of ethnicity and ethnic groups, the effects of clandestine or illegal immigration, the differing commitments to host vs. sending communities, the shift from city enclaves to suburban areas, the constraints and opportunities that lead to ethnic entrepreneurship, the role of religion in transnational linkages and the differing experiences of men and women as migrants.

Brettell also explores the relevance of life histories and oral narratives in understanding the immigration process and the mediation of boundaries in a new society. Her book provides a fresh perspective on the contemporary experience of migration and is indispensable to instructors and researchers in anthropology, race and ethnic studies, immigration studies, urban studies, sociology, and international relations.