ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the contemporary migration theory noting how, in recent years, scholarship in the area has increasingly recognised the importance of both the cultures of migration and the ways in which the experience of migration nests within a broader social context. A feature of much of the recent theorising conducted in the humanities and social sciences is the deployment of new conceptual vocabularies to interpret contemporary phenomena. In contrast to rigid class informed analysis, Martin argued that, despite their relative weakness, migrants had the capacity to change their position through effective lobbying. She also argued that migrants were defined as a social problem and this form of labelling served to reinforce discrimination and stigma. In short, social strategies were deemed more successful for migrants attempting to come grips with their destination and their new self-image than those who favoured solitary activities. However, it would be misleading to assume that all literature from psychoanalytical perspective casts migration as traumatic event.
