Advanced Introduction to Mobilities

'The ''new mobilities paradigm'' was announced 15 years ago. Here, one of the main figures in the development and phenomenal rise of mobilities work across the social sciences and humanities accounts for its progress since then, and shows why work on mobilities has never been more crucial for our understanding of the modern world. Linking low carbon transitions to social justice, tourism to migration, and the present to possible futures, there is no better summary of the state of the art than this.' -- Tim Cresswell, University of Edinburgh, UK 'Once again, Mimi Sheller has succeeded in considering the mobile world in innovative and eye-opening ways. Sharp and precise social science at its best. This book is a milestone in mobilities research and critical theoretical thinking and makes progress in understanding the hopefully soon to come post-pandemic world.' -- Sven Kesselring, Nuertingen-Geislingen University (HfWU), Germany 'Be forewarned. This amazing book is not just for budding scholars new to mobility studies, despite the title's introductory nomenclature. In addition to laying out the history of the inter-disciplinary field of critical mobility studies, Advanced Introduction to Mobilities offers an original and provocative way of reframing collective knowledge on the origins and effects of contemporary mobility transitions. Sheller not only ties her ''radical re-thinking of the relation between bodies, movement, and space'' to contemporary shifts in travel and movement associated with the pandemic, as well as other disruptions. She links these developments to ongoing political and philosophical debates about sustainability and the future of our planet. With both analytical rigor and projective aspirations, this book makes clear what is at stake in terms of mobility justice and how we might achieve it, despite the multi-scalar spatial formations and power relations that threaten to impede such priorities. Whether new to such debates or committed to their epistemological evolution in response to the societal shocks that continue to transform mobilities on a global scale, this book is an essential companion for the journey.' -- Diane E. Davis, Harvard University, US

Mimi Sheller, Dean of the Global School, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, US

Contents: 1. Introduction: 2020 mobility shock 2. The formation of an interdisciplinary field 3. Materiality, spatiality, and temporality 4. Mobility justice and Anthropocene mobilities 5. Tourism mobilities 6. Migrant mobilities 7. Informal and reproductive mobilities 8. Alternative mobility futures 9. Conclusion: Building a mobile commons References index