CM 1 : Social Sciences & Mobility Cartes

What does "anthropology" mean etymologically?

Anthropos (human being) + logos (study) = the study of human beings.

What is the main question of anthropology?

How to balance universality (same traits/practices everywhere) with diversity (they vary from one culture to another).

What is universality in anthropology?

Identifying the same traits, gestures and social practices around the world (smiling, joking, marriage, baptism).

What is diversity in anthropology?

How the same behaviors vary from one culture to another (e.g. a smile conveying warmth in one culture, prohibited or negative in another).

At what scale does anthropology work?

Micro-level: local experience, to understand meaning, emotion, value and perception.

What does anthropology focus on?

Lived experience, subjective meaning and the voice of the actor.

Who originated the study of society and social facts?

The French sociologist Durkheim.

What is the methodological rule of sociology?

Examine social phenomena as an "other", distancing ourselves from everyday understandings, to create sociological imagination.

What is sociological imagination?

Taking distance from what seems "normal" and looking at society as if it were foreign.

What are the 3 levels of sociological analysis?

Macro, mezzo and micro.

What is the macro level of sociology?

Large-scale societal structures, global trends, national statistics, quantitative patterns.

What is the mezzo level of sociology?

Social networks, intermediate connections and organizations (e.g. Instagram/WhatsApp networks, supply chains).

What is the micro level of sociology?

Qualitative everyday interactions, always connected back to macro-structures (e.g. morning coffee → global supply chains, colonial history, slavery, inequalities).

What is the forest metaphor for sociology?

Sociology = viewing the forest from above (aerial view): global patterns, density, structures.

What is the forest metaphor for anthropology?

Anthropology = exploring beneath the canopy (ground level): mushrooms, flowers, details invisible from above, lived experience.

How does Karl Marx define society?

Society structured by class relations, defined by the possession or non-possession of capital.

How does Georg Simmel define society?

Society as a dynamic product of reciprocal interactions among individuals.

How does Anthony Giddens (British sociology) define society?

A system of structured relationships operating within a bounded territory (often the nation-state).

Where does the word "mobility" come from?

The Latin word mobilitas.

What did mobility mean in ancient philosophy?

Movement of thoughts, ideas and concepts.

What did mobility mean in physics/natural sciences?

Physical movement of natural bodies and planets.

What did mobility mean during the Industrial Revolution?

A snobbish connotation: the mobility of the working class commoners as opposed to the immobility of the nobles.

What did mobility mean in political usage?

It was associated with the "Mob": uncontrollable, destructive or rushing masses.

What are the 3 aspects of mobility in contemporary sociology?

Movement, network (infrastructure) and mobility.

How much did air transport grow from 1952 to today?

From about 20 billion passenger-kilometers in 1952 to about 9 trillion.

What does Eurostat 2024 say about air travel in the EU?

1.1 billion passengers; flights outside the EU = 49.3%; domestic travel = 14.3%.

How many international migrants were there in 2000 and 2020?

107 million in 2000 and 281 million in 2020.

What are the top 3 countries of origin of international migrants?

1. India 2. Mexico 3. Russian Federation.

What percentage of global maritime trade is dry cargo?

62% (rice, grains, raw materials). Developing economies overtook developed ones in sea transport volume (2015-2016)

Why do maritime trade figures matter for mobility studies?

Mobility concerns objects and materials just as much as humans.

What are John Urry's 4 dimensions of mobility (sociology) ?

Physical movement (of bodies, objects or information), the Mob (collective mass movement), social mobility (upward or downward socio-economic movement), migration (permanent, semi-permanent or circular).

How does anthropology view mobility?

As a socio-cultural construct imbued (chargée) with meaning.

What question about meaning does anthropology ask about mobility?

Why do people move despite extreme risks? (e.g. crossing the Mediterranean)

What is the difference between affects and emotions?

Affects = observable things (tears, perspiration, voice quality). Emotions = what is actually felt.

What symbolic roles can migration have?

An initiation into adulthood, a responsibility towards the family, or meeting the expectations of the family or community.

Why must we study immobility to understand mobility?

Mobility cannot be understood without immobility: the vast majority of the world's population does not migrate.

What is "facilitating immobility"?

The immobility of some family members enables the mobility of others.

ex: Mothers migrating for care jobs in Europe rely on grandmothers staying at home to raise the children (Latin America, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe).

What are moorings?

Immobile physical or institutional structures that make movement possible (airports, harbors, tram rails, cell towers).

What are the 3 pillars of the New Mobility Paradigm?

1. Complexities and friction 2. Inequalities 3. Combating laziness and localism.

What is friction (Anna Tsing)?

Zones of conflict formed when global forces/events meet local cultures or realities. (ex: a McDonald's in an Indonesian village)

What does the "inequalities" pillar say?

Mobility is not the same for everyone: not everyone has the means to travel.

What does "combating laziness and localism" mean?

The old idea that societies are trapped within their borders is not accurate.

Is mobility a modern phenomenon?

No. Pottery was transported through Southeast Asian waterways 2,500 years ago.

What is new about mobility today?

The regulation of mobility by the global political system.

What is physical/spatial mobility?

Walking, cycling, driving, taking a train or plane.

What is virtual and communication mobility?

Digital exchanges: emails, SMS, web navigation.

What is temporal mobility?

Jumping from one time system to another (e.g. migrant children adjusting to different school schedules and time zones).

What is contextual mobility?

Moving between structural frames: familial, institutional, cultural or political contexts.

What are intimate mobilities?

Movements driven or shaped by sexuality, affect, romance or reproduction.

Give examples of intimate mobilities.

LGBTQ+ migration to escape persecution, romance travel, sex work migration, family reunification.

What are entangled movements?

The close connection of spatial mobility, social class mobility and intimate mobilities.

What are mobile methods for?

Capturing a world on the move, moving from classical structuralism toward post-structuralist approaches (reflexivity, subjectivity).

What is "watching movements"?

Watching people and things that move while standing still in one place (e.g. runners or bikers in a park).

What is "interviewing while cycling"?

Interviewing a participant while cycling on the same bicycle.

What are walk-alongs and ride-alongs?

Walking, driving or riding a motorbike with the participant.

What are time-lapse cameras in mobile methods?

Wearable cameras that take photos automatically at set intervals.

What are voice-mail diaries?

Audio recordings sent by phone.

Why use video diaries with avatars?

To preserve the participants' anonymity.

What are digital methods and e-postcards?

Text messages, virtual postcards and photos sent via smartphone.

Why use art and drawings in research?

To engage young children in research.

What is GPS tracking used for?

Tracking the geographic trajectories of people or objects.

What are travel remedy kits / activity deck cards (cartes d'activités)?

Activity cards given to train passengers to study their travel experience.

What are object and memory archives?

Analyzing personal objects, letters and photos (e.g. domestic workers in the Philippines).

What is in-between / transit space analysis?

Studying waiting and transit spaces (hotel lounges, cafés, parks).

What is reflexivity?

Researchers must consider how their own identity (gender, age, class, background) affects what they study and how they interpret it.

What is the difference between social facts and lived experience?

Sociology studies large-scale structures, systems and patterns (social facts). Anthropology examines human meaning, affect and the voice of the actor (lived experience).