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Book Review
Comparative/World
| David Eltis, editor. Coerced and Free Migration: Global Perspectives. (The Making of Modern Freedom.) Stanford: Stanford University Press. 2002. Pp. xii, 447. $65.00.
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| Migration and its many consequences—ethnocentrism, race mixing, "othering," and freedom—is a topic worth studying. This collection of essays edited by David Eltis deviates from studies that look at migration solely along national lines by examining free and coerced migration globally. The essays largely take a comparative approach as they examine migration and labor patterns in many corners of the world. They tie together well, illustrating similar themes and showing how the experiences of migrants differed and were similar. Although careful to make distinctions between free and coerced migration, the aim of many of the contributors seems to be to show that the two were not all that dissimilar, and certain themes do emerge in the essays. Significant threads include the way in which networks, links and connections were maintained and/or created by migrants, even those forced into migration, and the connection between migration and labor. Although of late migration has been voluntary, many of the earlier migration patterns were often tied to labor demands. The theme of identity formation is also salient as we see how migrants went through a variety of adjustment processes. Those interested in world history, diaspora, and migration studies will find this volume useful. |
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