Psychology, migration studies, and their disconnections: a review of existing research and future possibilities

Abstract

In this article, I review the increasing academic interest in migration globally and consider what psychology is, and could be, contributing to the topic. I begin with a brief review of where psychology and migration have intersected and follow with some commentary on the blind spots and possible areas of meaningful intervention. Migration offers a lens through which we can re-evaluate psychology and its role in Southern African contexts in the creation and challenging of structures of inclusion and exclusion. Using migration as such a lens allows for a consideration of the ongoing ways in which psychology participates in constructing the socio-political conditions of our time and place. Furthermore, doing so feeds into contemporary debates about the place of psychology in Africa and its possibilities for developing local, and locally relevant, knowledge.