Bodies in Motion : Rethinking Spaces and Borders Sociologically

Abstract

Abstract

en This article seeks to comprehend the concept of “space” and “borders” from several sociological perspectives, taking as an example the social experience of moving bodies in the context of globalization and international migration. Firstly, the different definitions of both concepts for the social sciences are discussed, and especially Georg Simmel’s contribution to the study of social life as a “spatial dimension”. Secondly, it considers the different variants related to the power relation and control of bodies, from a biological menace idea, in different spaces as the basis of social “inclusion” and “exclusion”. Finally, it argues that the nation’s spatial and border dimension is today being challenged primarily because of the migratory flows of different physical and especially virtual mobility forms. Based on these sociological concepts and notions, the article then tries to offer an expanded and complex perspective of “spatiality”, “borders”, and “displacement” in understanding the new political and cultural dimensions of contemporary societies.