Migratory Imaginaries in the Context of Senegalese Migration – Mechanisms of (re)production and implications for migration processes

I explore the role of migratory imaginaries as the socio-cultural ground of the formation of migration aspirations and their implications for the various stages of the migration process. Based on over 80 semi-narrative interviews and additional participant observation with Senegalese migrants, returnees, migrants’ family members and friends, and experts in Senegal, Germany and Italy, as well as a netnography of Senegalese migrants’ profiles on social media and representative survey data from two regions in Senegal, I follow a mixed-methods and multi-sited approach. Through the example of Senegalese migration to Europe, I develop the concept of migratory imaginaries and propose three mechanisms which explain the persistence of positive migratory imaginaries over time.

I show how migratory imaginaries are influenced by the visibility of migratory success, both offline in the country of origin, e.g. through migrants’ remittances and investments back home, and online, through migrants’ auto-representations on social media. The invisibility of ‘failure’, e.g. the absence of the construction of houses back home or of photos of the good life in Europe, do not enter the migratory imaginary because migration is only represented selectively. This leads to a selective perception of migration related information. Additionally, migrants tend to communicate positively about their lives abroad. Social media enhances these mechanisms through the possibility for migrants to share curated photos and videos about their lives abroad with people in Senegal. My transnational approach allows for a better understanding of the migratory imaginary’s implications for the mobility behavior of people in the countries of origin but also on migrants’ lives abroad.

This Event is part of the West African Migration and Diversity Seminar Series, featuring researchers based in West Africa and Europe who present and discuss their (ongoing) research about migration and diversity.