Chapter -- Interdisciplinarity in migration research
Jan Rath
in Ricard Zapata Barrero and Daniela Vintila (eds), How to do Migration Research? Edward Elgar Publishing series, 2024, pp. 17-23.
This chapter addresses the topic of interdisciplinarity and argues that migration research can only be done fruitfully when researchers cross disciplinary boundaries. To begin with, the system of academic disciplines is arbitrary in itself and, moreover, varies from country to country and sometimes from university to university. Phenomena, approaches, or styles of research that are seen as part of the domain of sociology in one place, may elsewhere be treated as a ‘typical’ part of the domains of anthropology, political science, or geography, and vice versa. In the same vein, the institutional system of research funding, the system of evaluation and accreditation of academic research, and the system of academic publishing (with its diversity of general and specialized journals) are rarely if ever on a par with strict disciplinary boundaries. Finally, the field of migration is extremely dynamic and complex which makes it hard to capture ‘the essence’ when a narrow disciplinary focus is applied. The chapter concludes by arguing that interdisciplinary approaches are richer and more fruitful.
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