Superdiversity: Migration and Social Complexity

Superdiversity explores processes of diversification and the complex,emergent social configurations that now supersede prior forms of diversity in societies around the world. Migration plays a key role in these processes, bringing changes not just in social, cultural, religious, and linguistic phenomena, but also in the ways that these phenomena combine with others like gender, age, and legal status.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 236 pages
Publication date: 15 November 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Superdiversity delves into the intricate processes of diversification and the complex, emergent social configurations that have surpassed previous forms of diversity in societies worldwide. Migration plays a pivotal role in these processes, bringing about significant changes in social, cultural, religious, and linguistic phenomena, as well as in the ways these phenomena intersect with other factors such as gender, age, and legal status.

The concept of superdiversity has gained widespread acceptance among scholars across various social sciences to address a diverse range of forms, modes, and outcomes of diversification. Central to this field is the examination of the relationship between social categorization and social organization, including stratification and inequality. The emergence of increasingly complex categories of social "difference" has far-reaching consequences across different scales, from entire societies to individual identities. While diversification often elicits simplifying stereotypes, threat narratives, and expressions of antagonism, superdiversity advocates for a perspective that recognizes difference as comprising multiple social processes, flexible collective meanings, and overlapping personal and group identities.

A superdiversity approach encourages a re-evaluation and recognition of social categories as multidimensional, unfixed, and porous, rather than views based on hardened, one-dimensional thinking about groups. Diversification and the increasing social complexity are likely to persist, if not intensify, in the face of climate change. This will have profound implications for global migration, social relations, and inequalities.

Superdiversity presents a compelling argument for acknowledging the emergence of new social formations driven by changing migration patterns and urges a re-examination of public policy and social scientific approaches to social difference. By adopting a superdiversity perspective, we can better understand and respond to the diverse needs and experiences of societies in the 21st century.

Weight: 460g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780415834636