Local Lives contests dominant trends in migration theory, demonstrating that many migrant identities have not become entirely diasporic or cosmopolitan, but remain equally focused on emplaced belonging and the anxieties of being uprooted. By addressing the question of how migrants legally and symbolically lay claim to owning and belonging to place, it refocuses our attention on the micro-politics and everyday rituals of place-making, that are central to the construction of migrant identities. Exploring immigrants' interactions with house spaces, property rights, environmental conservation, landscape, historical knowledge of place, ideas of 'local community' and place-specific 'traditions', this volume shows how, in a fluid world of movement, locality remains a deeply contested and symbolically rich place to situate identity and to constitute the self. Thematically organised and presenting a diverse range of empirical studies dealing with migrant communities in Hawaii, Britain, France, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, the Dominican Republic and Albania, Local Lives reorients research in migration and transnational studies around locality. As such, it will appeal to social scientists working on questions relating to landscape, identity and belonging; race and ethnicity; and migration and transnationalism.

The division of Germany separated a nation, divided communities, and inevitably shaped the life histories of those growing up in the socialist dictatorship of the East and the liberal democracy of the West. This peculiarly German experience of the Cold War is usually viewed through the lens of divided Berlin or other border communities. What has been much less explored, however, is what division meant to the millions of Germans in the East and West who lived far away from the Wall and the centres of political power. This volume is the first comparative study to examine how villagers in both Germanies dealt with the imposition of two very different systems in their everyday lives. Focusing on two villages, Neukirch (Lausitz) in Saxony and Ebersbach an der Fils in Baden-W?rttemberg, it explores how local residents experienced and navigated social change in their localities in the postwar era. Based on a wide range of archival sources as well as oral history interviews, the work argues that there are parallel histories of responses to social change among villagers in postwar Germany. Despite the different social, political, and economic developments, the residents of both localities desired rural modernisation, lamented the loss of 'community', and became politically active to control the transformation of their localities. The work thereby offers a bottom-up history of divided Germany which shows how individuals on both sides of the Wall gave local meaning to large-scale processes of change.

Globalization is widely accepted as being a defining process of our modern society. But to what extent do individuals think, feel or act in a way that takes account of the whole world? Do globalization processes really affect us in our everyday lives? And, if so, where are the boundaries between local and global society? This book investigates how local and global studies overlap and interact by examining how real, local lives function under global conditions. It begins by unravelling the most important concepts and debates in the field, opening them up to scrutiny and testing their assumptions through recent case studies and empirical material. The book goes on to examine the power of local forces in forming global processes and explores our attachment to local vs global identities, whilst asking if we can build on our local attachments to move towards a world society. From concerns about the international economy and growing global inequalities to worldwide fears of organized crime and terrorism, this insightful book suggests a new way of looking at the interaction of local and global transformations. Local Lives and Global Transformations gives student readers the knowledge and the encouragement to push the boundaries of their understanding of globalization. It is inspiring reading for all those studying and interested in globalization throughout the social sciences.

Local Lives in a Global Pandemic: Stories from North Central Florida covers the COVID-19 pandemic at its peak in 2020. It is a snapshot designed to give readers insights into the thoughts and feelings of their neighbors, and for future generations, a window into the real-time experiences of those who lived through the ordeal. The book includes a preface from Lauren Poe, mayor of Gainesville, and entries from a long list of contributors. The essays were collected by the Matheson History Museum and the Writers Alliance of Gainesville. Contributions come from writers and non-writers alike. Victims describe their suffering. Medical personnel highlight their struggles. Young people decry being denied rites of passage such as prom and graduation. Teachers, parents, grandparents, public figures, and even a prison inmate give their perspective. While the stories are drawn from north central Florida, they will resonate with anyone who wants to get a deeper sense of how the world was blindsided by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This book is concerned with the classed and gendered characteristics of post-2004 migration between two non-city locales in Ireland (Newcastle West, Co. Limerick) and Poland (Tczew, pomorskie voivodeship). It documents and analyses this contemporary migration wave as a sociocultural phenomenon and sheds light on the strategies developed by the participants through which they rationalise and negotiate their mobile lifestyles. Content: Introduction Chapter 1 Polish Capitalism and the Legacies of Communism and Catholicism Chapter 2 Post-2004 Polish Migration to Ireland Chapter 3 Theorising Contemporary Migration Chapter 4 Researching Contemporary Migration: Methodological Considerations Chapter 5 The Trans-local Habitus: Reproducing Rurality in Migration Chapter 6 Ordinary People Living Normal Lives: Formations of the Migrant Working Class Chapter 7 Making Migration Livable: Negotiations between Mobility and Emplacement Chapter 8 Polish Masculinities and Femininities: Constructions of Gender Identities in Migration Conclusion

Long-term migration is one of the most important factors in the formation of cultural identities in the modern world. Immigrant communities are usually studied in the context of the country people have migrated to; Katy Gardner, however, looks at the neglected `sending' side of the equation. In the sending communities, out-migration has become a central economic and social resource - the route to social, as well as physical, mobility, transforming those who gain access to it. Dr Gardner examines the cultural context and effects of the long-term migration from Bangladesh to Britain and the Middle East, drawing on her fieldwork in the Sylhet district,an area of exceptional migration. Major aspects of Bangledeshi life such as land, family structure, marriage and religion - all of which have been affected by the heavy out-migration - are covered in detail, and the transformation of the social structure is mapped. In focusing on local ideology, this book shows how local cultural meanings are constantly negotiated and contested by different groups in the context of rapid economic change. At the heart of this important contribution to the anthropology of migration is a presentation of the dynamic nature of migration and the concomitant possibility of self-transformation it holds for migrant cultures.

Death waits for snowman in Nikki Knight’s new Vermont-based cozy series, perfect for fans of Connie Archer and Mary Kennedy. In a fit of anger, radio DJ Jaye Jordan blows a snowman’s head off with a Revolutionary War-style musket. But the corpse that tumbles out is all too human. Jaye thought life would be quieter when she left New York City and bought a tiny Vermont radio station. But now, Edwin Anger—the ranting and raving radio talk show host who Jaye recently fired—lies dead in the snow. And the Edwin Anger fans who protested his dismissal are sure she killed him. To clear her name, Jaye must find the real killer, as if she doesn’t have her hands full running the radio station, DJing her all-request love song show, and shuttling tween daughter Ryan to and from school. It doesn’t make matters easier that the governor—Jaye’s old crush—arrived on the scene before the musket smoke cleared. Fortunately, Jaye has allies…if you count the flatulent moose that lives in the transmitter shack, and Neptune, the giant gray cat that lives at the station. If Jaye can turn the tables on the devious killer, she and the governor may get to make some sweet, sweet music together. But if she can’t, she’ll be off the air…permanently.