Synopses & Reviews
Liberating Temporariness? explores the complex ways in which temporariness is being institutionalized as a condition of life for a growing number of people worldwide. The collection emphasizes contemporary developments, but also provides historical context on nation-state membership as the fundamental means for accessing rights in an era of expanding temporariness - in recognition of why pathways to permanence remain so compelling. Through empirical and theoretical analysis, contributors explore various dimensions of temporariness, especially as it relates to the legal status of migrants and refugees, to the spread of precarious employment, and to limitations on social rights. While the focus is on Canada, a number of chapters investigate and contrast developments in Canada with those in Europe as well as Australia and the United States. Together, these essays reveal changing and enduring temporariness at local, regional, national, transnational, and global levels, and in different domains, such as health care, language programs, and security. The question at the heart of this collection is whether temporariness can be liberated from current constraints. While not denying the desirability of permanence for migrants and labourers, Liberating Temporariness? presents alternative possibilities of security and liberation.
Review
Liberating Temporariness? is a high valuable and original intervention in the field of migration studies, with important resonances for a number of other research fields.” Sandro Mezzadra, Department of Political and Social Sciences, University of Bologna
Synopsis
An in-depth and wide-ranging critique and analysis of the rising tide of temporariness in political and social life.
About the Author
Leah F. Vosko is professor of political science and Canada Research Chair in the Political Economy of Gender and Work at York University. She is the editor of Precarious Employment: Understanding Labour Market Insecurity in Canada. Valerie Preston is professor of geography at York University and a former York Director for CERIS - The Ontario Metropolis Centre. Robert Latham teaches in the Department of Political Science and Program in Communication and Culture at York University.