1st Edition
Mobilizing Hospitality The Ethics of Social Relations in a Mobile World
The concept of ’mobility’ has sparked lively academic debate in recent years. Drawing on research from the fields of anthropology, geography, sociology and tourism studies, this volume examines the intersection between mobility and hospitality, highlighting the issues that emerge as we encounter strangers in a mobile world. Through a series of diverse empirical accounts, it focuses on the transnational movement of people in the contexts of migration and tourism and examines how hospitality serves as a way of promoting and policing encounters, questioning how these relations are marked by exclusion as well as inclusion, and by violence as well as by kindness. In addition to exploring the power relations between mobile populations (hosts and guests) and attitudes (hospitality and hostility), the book also examines spaces of hospitality and mobility, such as cities, hotels, clubs, cafes, spas, asylums, restaurants, homes and homepages. In doing so, it makes a significant contribution to the political and ethical dimensions of mobile social relations.
Biography
Jennie Germann Molz is Assistant Professor of Sociology, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts. Sarah Gibson is Lecturer in the Department of Culture, Media and Communication, University of Surrey, UK.
'This book makes an excellent contribution to the growing body of knowledge about hospitality as a human phenomenon. The book provides valuable insights into hospitality involving guest and host relations in varied social contexts and in commercial situations. As such, it will prove valuable to those studying both human mobility between societies and the commercial provision of hospitality services. An interesting and thought provoking read!' Conrad Lashley, Nottingham Trent University, UK 'This is a welcoming and hospitable book. From the first handshake, it invites the reader to join the search for a conceptual view of today’s world, marked by mobile hospitalities. How, why and where can we welcome the stranger and interrupt our own being and doing? The outcome is a compelling call for political and ethical action.' Soile Veijola, University of Lapland, Finland
