Short Abstract:

This panel examines the utopic and dystopic turns for how im/mobilities get represented in different spatio-temporal dimensions.

Long Abstract:

Through a handful of papers, this panel shall explore the phenomena of im/mobility. The theme of mobility has seen another recent explosion of interest in contemporary ethnological/anthropological theory. Indeed, many scholars have regularly been talking of the 'mobilities turn'. Yet perhaps it is more appropriate to speak of a return -- or maybe even more apt still, especially when considering the theme of this conference, to consider this trend as a u-turn. The papers in this small panel nonetheless span a wide range of spatio-temporal spheres when considering mobility: from the fleeting movement of European hitch-hikers which may last only for moments (or a lifetime), through to the pseudo-pilgrimmage ascensions in the Southern Carpathian Massifs. And from the fairly regular movement patterns of nomadic Arctic hunters, as influenced by their dreams, through to the existential longue-durée trope of 'free travel', as it occurs in the textual depictions of the Beat poets as well as the audio-visual representations of other important cinematographic auteurs.