Home Sweet Home - 3500-TABS-HSH

The aim of the seminar is to present analyzes of social and
psychological aspects of the phenomenon of return migration.
During our seminar, we will pay attention to the fact that many
postmodernist-oriented scholars - sociologists and anthropologists
- anticipate, and even currently see, the decline in the meaning of
the relationship between the identity of a modern man and a
specific territory. Scholars such as Arjun Appadurai (2005),
Anthony Giddens (2001), or Zygmunt Bauman (1992; 1995)
predicted that modern man would build his identity based on
situational factors, changing life circumstances, resulting from
individual decisions, ignoring relatively an element of territorial
ties, which is of little importance in the conditions of widespread

migration. But the analysis of returning "home" is to allow for a
deeper understanding of an issue important for contemporary
social sciences - the meaning and value of a place for the
construction of individual and group self-definition. Theoretical
inspiration will be the famous essay by Alfred Schuetz: "The
homecomer".
As part of the concept of return migrations, the precise
definition of "return" is not easy, because many migrants, deciding
to go abroad "on trial", make the durability of their stay outside
the country dependent on many factors, e.g. finding a satisfactory
job or salary. They treat their "return" in a similar way, leaving
themselves the option of leaving again if the situation in their
homeland does not meet their expectations. Contemporary
migrations are referred to as "fluid" because - especially in Europe
- within the EU - formalities related to arrival, stay and work in
another Member State do not constitute a significant barrier for
EU citizens. The costs and risks associated with the migration
process are limited, thus migrants have more freedom in making
decisions both about leaving and choosing the destination country,
as well as about returning. Given that return migrations have
different intentions, course and duration, we can distinguish
occasional, seasonal, temporary and permanent returns.
Due to the "fluency" of the movement process, during
which a migrant can change countries of residence or circulate
between the country of origin and residence, a temporary stay in
the homeland after a stay abroad may be a permanent return, as
well as one of the phases in a multi-stage process. According to the
definition adopted by the OECD, a person can be considered a
return migrant when he returns to his country of origin with the
intention of staying there for at least one year. Although easily
considered subjective, such a definition is nevertheless necessary
for measuring and estimating return migrations.
During our classes, we also want to draw attention to the
role of social remittances, i.e. ideas, practices, ways of
identification that flow from the host country to the country of
origin of migrants. They can affect family relationships, change
gender roles, class and religious identification. They can also have
a fundamental impact on society's participation in public life in the
political, economic, social and religious spheres. They play a key
role in understanding the impact of migration on the lives of those
who have not decided to emigrate. This term belongs to the
broader concept of "migration culture", which means changes in
the value system and cultural changes in communities with a long
history of migration and large outflow of population.