
The British in Rural France
Lifestyle Migration and the Ongoing Quest for a Better Way of Life
Michaela Benson(Author)
Manchester University Press
Published on 1. May 2011
Book
Hardback
192 pages
978-0-7190-8249-8 (ISBN)
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Description
The British in rural France is a study of how lifestyle choices intersect with migration, and how this relationship frames and shapes post-migration lives. It presents a conceptual framework for understanding post-migration lives that incorporates culturally-specific imaginings, lived experiences, individual life histories, and personal circumstances. Through an ethnographic lens incorporating in-depth interviews, participant observation, life and migration histories, this monograph reveals the complex process by which migrants negotiate and make meaningful their lives following migration.
By promoting their own ideologies and lifestyle choices relative to those of others, British migrants in rural France reinforce their position as members of the British middle-class, but also take authorship of their lives in a way not possible before migration. This is evident in the pursuit of a better way of life that initially motivated migration and continues to characterise post-migration lives. As the book argues this ongoing quest is both reflective of wider ideologies about living, particularly the desire for authentic living, and subtle processes of social distinction. In these respects The British in rural France provides a unique empirical example of the relationship between the pursuit of authenticity and middle-class identification practices.
The book will be of interest to lifestyle migration and migration specialists, sociologists, social anthropologists, human geographers, scholars of tourism, as well as being accessible to individuals with a broader interest in this social phenomenon. -- .
By promoting their own ideologies and lifestyle choices relative to those of others, British migrants in rural France reinforce their position as members of the British middle-class, but also take authorship of their lives in a way not possible before migration. This is evident in the pursuit of a better way of life that initially motivated migration and continues to characterise post-migration lives. As the book argues this ongoing quest is both reflective of wider ideologies about living, particularly the desire for authentic living, and subtle processes of social distinction. In these respects The British in rural France provides a unique empirical example of the relationship between the pursuit of authenticity and middle-class identification practices.
The book will be of interest to lifestyle migration and migration specialists, sociologists, social anthropologists, human geographers, scholars of tourism, as well as being accessible to individuals with a broader interest in this social phenomenon. -- .
Reviews / Votes
"I warmly recommend this book to those interested in issues of migration, lifestyle and mobility. Its accessible writing style and the multiple examples make it a good read for scholars, students and the broader public wanting to know what the life of British migrants in rural France 'really' looks like."I realished the prospect of a new wave of ethnography and was particularly attracted to this study, resting as it does on a rich vein of the British imaginary, but sadly I found little of the old Mancunian flair. -- .
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Manchester
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
Illustrations, black & white
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-0-7190-8249-8 (9780719082498)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Michaela Caroline Benson is currently a Research Assistant in the Centre for Urban Studies at the University of Bristol. -- .
Content
Acknowledgements
1. Introduction
Part I: Imagination, Migration and Post-Migration Lives
2. Explaining Migration
3. Negotiating Locality
4. A (Persistent) State of Uncertainty
5. Life in a Postcard
Part II: Distinction, Identity and the Ongoing Search for a Better Way of Life
6. At Home in the Lot
7. The Unexceptional Lives of Others
8. En Route to Authentic Living
9. Conclusion
10. Bibliography -- .
1. Introduction
Part I: Imagination, Migration and Post-Migration Lives
2. Explaining Migration
3. Negotiating Locality
4. A (Persistent) State of Uncertainty
5. Life in a Postcard
Part II: Distinction, Identity and the Ongoing Search for a Better Way of Life
6. At Home in the Lot
7. The Unexceptional Lives of Others
8. En Route to Authentic Living
9. Conclusion
10. Bibliography -- .