Abstract
Abstract Contemporary societies are embedded in three interrelated processes: increasing mobility, digital connectivity and the consolidation of a service-based economy. In this context, a migration industry of connectivity (MIC) emerges as a set of private ventures offering services to migrants to enable them to keep in touch with loved ones at a distance. This article has a double purpose: first, it argues that the MIC is a powerful theoretical concept to analyse contemporary migratory processes. Second, it illustrates this empirically through ten company spokespersons’ accounts and a critical discourse analysis of eighteen corporate online texts of mobile telephony and money transfer services that target immigrants in Europe. Conclusions suggest that these discourses offer migrants alternative subjectivities across the lines of consumption, citizenship and ethnic identity, often neglected within the broader field of public discourses, such as the mass media and parliamentary debate. This situates the MIC as an emerging powerful actor in a discursive arena traditionally dominated by governmental bodies.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
