MMB Reading Group – ‘Mobility Justice’ by Mimi Sheller

This month we discuss Mimi Sheller’s book Mobility Justice: The Politics of Movement in an Age of Extremes (Verso, 2018), in which she makes a passionate argument for a new understanding of the contemporary crisis of movement.

‘Sheller shows how power and inequality inform the governance and control of movement. She connects the body, street, city, nation, and planet in one overarching theory of the modern, perpetually shifting world. Concepts of mobility are examined on a local level in the circulation of people, resources, and information, as well as on an urban scale, with questions of public transport and “the right to the city.” On the planetary level, she demands that we rethink the reality where tourists and other elites are able to roam freely, while migrants and those most in need are abandoned and imprisoned at the borders.

‘Mobility Justice is a new way to understand the deep flows of inequality and uneven accessibility in a world in which the mobility commons have been enclosed. It is a call for a new understanding of the politics of movement and a demand for justice for all.’ (Verso website.)

A recent talk by Mimi Sheller about Mobility Justice can be seen here. The book can be purchased direct from the publisher with a 30% discount.

Chair: Chris Bertram

Convener: Sarah Kunz

If you would like to join the meeting please fill in this form by 8th March.

The MMB Reading Group is a forum to discuss migration and mobility-related texts that members have enjoyed reading and are keen to debate. Please contact Sarah Kunz (sarah.kunz@bristol.ac.uk) or the MMB team (mmb-sri@bristol.ac.uk) if there is an article or book you would like to discuss with the group. Where possible we can invite the author to join us. Details of the first meeting below.