| ID | 143650 |
| Title Proper | From myth of return to return fantasy |
| Other Title Information | a psychosocial interpretation of migration imaginaries |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Bolognani, Marta |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | By referring to the myth of return, migration literature has focused mainly on sociopolitical explanations, neglecting intersubjective dynamics. This paper operates a switch from myth of return to fantasy. This allows the analysis to be detached from the return speculation’s outcome. It also recognises the cross-generational endurance of return-thinking as functional to the process of identity-building as part of a migrant’s search for well-being. Three British Pakistani migration stories will illustrate how return fantasies are not necessarily a symptom of disengagement with the host society, but are part of a common way human beings have to imagine possible futures for themselves and make sense of their present. Fantasies have the potential to create a virtual transitional space where the individual can re-elaborate experiences in a mode that is safer than the one of reality and may have a positive effect on normalising one’s migration experience. |
| `In' analytical Note | Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power Vol. 23, No.2; Apr 2016: p.193-209 |
| Journal Source | Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power 2016-04 23, 2 |
| Key Words | British Pakistanis ; Myth of Return ; Return Fantasy ; Psychoanalytically Informed Methods ; Transitional Space |