Mobile Urbanity - Somali Presence in Urban East Africa

The increased presence of Somalis has brought much change to East African towns and cities in recent decades, change that has met with ambivalence and suspicion, especially within Kenya. This volume demystifies Somali residence and mobility in urban East Africa, showing its historical depth, and exploring the social, cultural and political underpinnings of Somali-led urban transformation. In so doing, it offers a vivid case study of the transformative power of (forced) migration on urban centres, and the intertwining of urbanity and mobility. The volume will be of interest for readers working in the broader field of migration, as well as anthropology and urban studies.

About the author

Neil Carrier is an Associate Professor in Social Anthropology at the University of Bristol. He has worked on a number of themes related to transnational trade and commodities, and to the impact of migration on East Africa. His most recent book is an ethnography of Nairobi’s Eastleigh estate, home to a large proportion of Kenya’s urban Somali population.

Tabea Scharrer is currently working at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology in Halle (Germany), doing research with Somali migrants in Kenyan urban centres and in Europe. She wrote her dissertation on Muslim Missionary Movements and Conversion to Islam at the Free University in Berlin.

Product details

• Authors: Neil Scharrer Carrier
• Assisted by: Neil Carrier (Editor), Tabea Scharrer (Editor)
• Publisher: BERGHAHN BOOKS, INC
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 31.08.2022
• EAN: 9781800734432
• ISBN: 978-1-80073-443-2
• No. of pages: 264
• Series: Integration and Conflict Studies; Integration and Conflict Studi
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Sociology > Sociological theories; SOCIAL SCIENCE / Emigration & Immigration, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Refugees, East Africa, Social & cultural anthropology, ethnography, Social and cultural anthropology, Human Geography, Refugees and political asylum, Refugees & Political Asylum