ABSTRACT
This article examines how embodied, multisensory interactions influence migrants’ experiences of familiarity, proposing that familiarity is not just cognitive or emotional but a socio-embodied phenomenon integrating bodily sensations with social practices. Building on studies that show how social practices like food, music and rituals foster belonging among migrants, we argue that sensory engagement is fundamental to the formation of familiarity. Through ethnographic research focusing on an Ecuadorian migrant in the Netherlands, we introduce the concept of “somatic agency” – the proactive and intentional use of sensory engagement to reshape one’s environment and cultivate familiarity. By actively engaging in cultural practices, creating familiar sensory cues and building social bonds, migrants exercise agency over their surroundings. We emphasise the dynamic interplay between familiarisation, defamiliarization and somatic agency in migrant experiences, suggesting that sensory engagement is crucial for migrants as they navigate and adapt to new environments. In doing so, the article contributes to debates on migrant belonging by demonstrating that bodily practices and sensory engagement are resources for negotiating familiarity. It also emphasises the methodological relevance of attending to sensory dimensions, which reveal the entanglement of the intimate and the political in everyday life.
