Mobility and Identity in Europe: A Mobile Ethnographic Approach

This book demonstrates that mobility in Europe is not a synonym for European mobility, showing how certain mobile individuals are more likely to develop an explicitly European identity than others. Through a series of mobile ethnographic accounts with truck drivers, musicians and MEPs, the author lays out the complexities behind assumptions about mobility and European identity, providing a clear contrast between individuals for whom this process certainly is true and others who, in spite of their high levels of mobility, do not consider themselves European, or for whom the notion of being European is simply insignificant. Ultimately, as this book shows, the enactment of a European identity, through practices of mobility, has more to do with social class than with a mobile condition per se, with mobility in Europe being transformed into European mobility only when it empowers individuals, solidifying their elevated position in the social pyramid.

An account of European identity and its connection to mobility and notions of class, Mobility and Identity in Europe also explores the ways in which mobile ethnography can be practised as a method and what conclusions can be drawn from it. As such, it will appeal to scholars and students of sociology, anthropology and geography.

Andre Novoa is an ERC researcher of The Colour of Labour project, Institute of Social Sciences, University of Lisbon, Portugal.