Epilogue

Abstract

This epilogue provides an extended conclusion to the Special Feature’s consideration of what happens in the lives of migrants and refugees when they are ‘throwntogether’ in certain urban places with colonial pasts and hostile social and political environments. The contemporary literature on urban encounters across difference pays homage to Doreen Massey’s concept of ‘throwntogetherness’ - her idea that places are fields of multiple interactions, formed through the politics of social practices. Despite the respect it gives to Massey’s work, the suggestion is made that past literature about encounters may have overemphasised the ‘togetherness’ part of Massey’s concept and paid insufficient attention to the ‘thrown’ part of it. The epilogue considers questions that a strong focus on ‘throwing’ might have us pose when togetherness turns out to be violent and unwelcoming for minorities and migrants.