Description
The Double Absence
Book Summary
This work brings together the fundamental analyses of sociologist Abdelmalek Sayad on emigration and immigration, two phenomena that, while distinct, are inseparable and must be thought of together. The author, with the collaboration of Pierre Bourdieu, offers a profound reflection on the migratory experience, exploring the paradoxes and symbolic violence that accompany it. The reader will find a rigorous study that unravels the social, political, and existential logics that define the condition of the immigrant, a figure trapped between two worlds and marked by a double absence.
What is it about?
The book addresses migration not only as a physical displacement, but as a total social phenomenon that implies a radical transformation of identity. Sayad analyzes how the emigrant, upon leaving, becomes an absentee in their place of origin, but upon arriving in the destination country, is also an absentee, a foreigner who never fully belongs. Through a critical sociological approach, the work examines the administrative categories, migration policies, and social representations that construct the immigrant as a problem. It is a reflection on power, domination, and the way in which societies produce and manage otherness. The original synopsis, which includes a text by Pierre Bourdieu, underscores the importance of thinking about the two poles of the migratory phenomenon together, overcoming the partial views that separate emigration from immigration.
Main themes
- Sociology of migration and critical analysis of the categories of emigrant and immigrant.
- The double absence as an existential and social condition of the migrant.
- Symbolic violence and mechanisms of domination in the relationships between countries of origin and destination.
- Critique of migration policies and the construction of the immigrant as a social problem.
- The relationship between the State, the nation, and the production of otherness.
Who is it recommended for?
This book is intended for students and researchers in the social sciences, especially in sociology, anthropology, and political science, who are interested in migration studies. It is also essential reading for social work professionals, activists, and anyone seeking a deep and critical understanding of contemporary migratory processes, beyond simplistic or media-driven discourses.
What this book contributes
- A solid and original theoretical framework for understanding migration as a total social fact.
- A critical gaze that deconstructs the prejudices and administrative categories that stigmatize the immigrant.
- The possibility of thinking about migration from the perspective of the emigrant, considering their link to the place of origin.
- Analytical tools to question migration policies and the power relations that underpin them.
Technical specifications
- Author: ABDELMALEK, SAYAD
- Publisher: ANTHROPOS EDITORIAL
- Language: Spanish
- Subject: MIGRATION, IMMIGRATION AND EMIGRATION
- Collection: NO COLLECTION
- Weight: 100 g
Editorial review
The Double Absence presents itself as an unavoidable reference work for those who wish to address the migratory phenomenon with intellectual rigor. Sayad's analysis, enriched by Pierre Bourdieu's prologue, offers a perspective that transcends statistical data to delve into human experiences and structures of power. It is a book that invites critical reflection and is especially relevant in a context where debates on migration require solid conceptual frameworks far removed from simplifications.