A Fish in Many Waters? Addressing Transnational Habitus and the Reworking of Bourdieu in Global Contexts

Abstract

This article explores the operationalization of transnational habitus by scholars to understand how individuals experience mobilities across borders. Our scoping study of 21 scholarly publications focuses on the various ways in which transnational habitus is defined as well as the different approaches to theorizing a transnational habitus. In critically mapping the relatively short history of transnational habitus, we are interested in what about habitus appears particularly generative to scholars interested in migratory experiences. The study first charts the sociological scholarship to date on transnational habitus and how it is used to understand the ways in which transnational migrants negotiate and navigate their social and cross-border mobilities. Then, to critically appraise these theorizations, the analysis focuses on two key trends in the literature: treatment of clivé/adaptation and the role of time(lag)/temporality before addressing two key silences in the use of transnational habitus – specifically gender and consideration of differences in class background.