Intersections of necessity and desire in migration research

This chapter discusses the spatial twists and turns of mobility and the intersecting role of necessity and desire in migration choices. The chapter argues that, while necessity and desire always interact intersectionally, the role of desire, particularly perhaps same-sex desire, in migration research is often the excluded or silenced other. It provides some examples of characteristic domains, spaces, and encounters of migration. The chapter considers some of the methodologies available for researching affective and emotional aspects of migration. The asylum process has been the subject of considerable research attention from sociologists, anthropologists, lawyers, and linguistic ethnographers. Language learning may be another challenging encounter for new and not-so-new migrants, and the field has been reviewed extensively in James Simpson and Anne Whiteside. Language learning for migrants is often construed in a narrow and functional way under the influence of neoliberal policy, constrained as language for employment.