Unsettled Crossings

Lila Abu-Lughod on Location, Feminism, and Media

How do crises amplify national anxieties and shape the treatment of migrants and asylum seekers? In this episode of Unsettled Crossings, we turn to the role of affective economies in the post-9/11 era, examining how fear circulates to justify border militarization, restrictive immigration policies, and surveillance of displaced populations. While previous episodes explored the constructed nature of hate and the racialized narratives that define belonging, this episode focuses on how moments of perceived national crisis trigger an intensified emotional economy—one that aligns patriotism with security and constructs migration as a threat. We investigate how asylum seekers became scapegoats for broader societal fears, drawing on Ahmed’s notion of stickiness to analyze how figures like the "bogus refugee" or "potential terrorist" persist in public discourse. How do states deploy emotional narratives of injury and self-defense to legitimize policies of exclusion? What role do these narratives play in shaping legal frameworks, such as the securitization of asylum processes and the criminalization of border crossings? By unpacking the emotional and symbolic alignment of security with exclusion, we explore how migration policies are shaped not only by material conditions but by the circulation of fear itself. Finally, we reflect on counter-movements that challenge fear-based exclusions, reimagining migration through frameworks of solidarity and shared humanity.

Rethinking Ethnography with Lila Abu-Lughod

Anthropologist Lila Abu-Lughod’s work challenges the conventions of traditional ethnography, advocating for feminist methods and situated knowledge. This episode examines her "ethnography of the particular," the role of "halfie" ethnographers, and her innovative study of Egyptian television as a lens on national culture and power structures. Discover how her research reshapes our understanding of identity, media, and the global-local dynamic.