Affective mobilities: migration, emotion and (im)possibility

This paper aims to contribute to the emerging field of affective mobilities by proposing a pragmatist inspired, sociocultural theory of affect that is grounded in the notions of experience, action, position, and perspective. Conceiving mobility as an act of repositioning that is guided by affect and oriented towards a fundamentally open future, this approach makes us sensitive to the intricate connections between movement, emotion and possibility. Emotional states that may enable one’s engagement with the possible, connected for example to feelings of hope, anxiety, and wonder, are contrasted with what are typically possibility - reducing emotional states of despair, fear, and anger. By discussing the case of two asylum seekers in Greece, this initial typology of emotions is troubled by the simultaneity of experiencing hope and despair, mobility and immobility, possibility and impossibility, a marker of the refugee’s unique position in the world. Some final reflections are offered about the future of affective mobilities and its contribution to a broader understanding of movement, affect, and human (im)possibility.