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WORLD ANTHROPOLOGICAL UNION

CONGRESS 2024​

Paper

The moving dead: Anthropological reevaluation of the migratory frameworks

presenters

    Alexandra Staniewska

    Nationality: Poland

    Residence: Poland

    Institute of Anthropology and Ethnology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan (Poland)

    Presence:Face to Face/ On Site

Keywords:

dead bodies, mobility, migration, necromigration, posthumanism

Abstract:

In the face of mass deaths resulting from migration, the current theoretical frameworks of migration studies seem insufficient to analyse contemporary migration processes. It is particularly emergent to consider the mobility of the dead bodies of those migrants who died en route. In the case of maritime crossings to Europe, their corpses regularly wash up on beaches, where the touristic nature of these locations intersects with deathscapes. From the perspective of migration studies, the impact of these dead migrants on specific places and communities is especially interesting, both through their physical presence and symbolic commemorations. Research on the mobility of dead migrants can contribute to the creation of new posthumanist migration theories and shed new light on the dead bodies studies, which very rarely consider aspects related to the mobility of human remains. To broaden the existing research horizons, I propose adopting the new categories of „necromigration” and „necromigrants”, encompassing both migrants who died during crossings and a range of other cases. This approach calls for an interdisciplinary methodology, drawing from anthropology, sociology, geography, and critical theory, to fully grasp the implications of these phenomena. By undertaking such research perspective, we can better understand the complex socio-political and cultural landscapes that emerge in response to these dead, expand traditional migration narratives, and develop a more comprehensive framework for analysing the intersections of life, death, and mobility in the context of global migrations.