ABSTRACT
In this introductory chapter, the editors of Mining, Mobility, and Social Change in the Global South: Regional Perspectives introduce the volume and its chapters. The first section of this chapter frames mining as movement and calls attention to the diverse forms of human and non-human movements that mining encompasses, relies on, and triggers. This section also introduces the concept of “mobility” as a means of exploring the power relations that shape how and why people move across space in relation to mining, as well as the multiple dimensions and effects of these movements. The second section offers a historical perspective on the mining-mobility nexus. It identifies key dynamics that have underlain the linkages between mining and population movements across time and uses two iconic case studies in the global history of mining (silver mining in colonial Potosí and the California gold rush) to draw attention to historical variations in mining-related mobilities and to identify key themes addressed by contributors to this volume. The final section of this chapter situates the volume within the social-science literature on mining and outlines the book’s contents.
