Shows
Who do we think we are?S3 E10 Migration and the making of Global Britain What’s the significance of migration for the making of ‘Global Britain’? And what are the theoretical and conceptual tools that can help to unpack this question? In this episode, we turn our attention to the value of racial capitalism for understanding migration to and from the UK after Brexit. Elena Zambelli explains what we mean when we talk about ‘Global Britain,’ its political trajectory, and the role of coloniality within it. Ida Danewid, Lecturer in Gender and Global Political Economy at the University of Sussex joins us to offer insights into the relationship between racial capitalism, migration and borders. A...
2024-03-1553 minWho do we think we are?S3 E10 Migration and the making of Global Britain What’s the significance of migration for the making of ‘Global Britain’? And what are the theoretical and conceptual tools that can help to unpack this question? In this episode, we turn our attention to the value of racial capitalism for understanding migration to and from the UK after Brexit. Elena Zambelli explains what we mean when we talk about ‘Global Britain,’ its political trajectory, and the role of coloniality within it. Ida Danewid, Lecturer in Gender and Global Political Economy at the University of Sussex joins us to offer insights into the relationship between racial capitalism, migration and borders. A...
2024-03-1553 min
Who do we think we are?S3 E7 Families at the borders What happens when borders cross families? How do families navigate these interruptions to their ability to live together? This episode considers what shifting perspective to families opens up to view in terms of thinking about the work of borders and their impact on people’s everyday lives. Helena Wray, Professor of Migration Law at the University of Exeter, explains the historical development of family migration laws and what these make visible about the racialization of the nation and its political community. Elena Zambelli explains what a ‘mixed-status family’ is, and the many ways in which states may affect its member...
2023-11-1651 minWho do we think we are?S3 E7 Families at the borders What happens when borders cross families? How do families navigate these interruptions to their ability to live together? This episode considers what shifting perspective to families opens up to view in terms of thinking about the work of borders and their impact on people’s everyday lives. Helena Wray, Professor of Migration Law at the University of Exeter, explains the historical development of family migration laws and what these make visible about the racialization of the nation and its political community. Elena Zambelli explains what a ‘mixed-status family’ is, and the many ways in which states may affect its member...
2023-11-1651 min
Who do we think we are?S3 E4 A New Plan for Migration? What’s changed in the UK’s approach to migration since Brexit? How has this impacted on migration flows? Who is and isn’t migrating to the UK ? In A New Plan for Migration? we consider the shape and structure of the UK’s regulation and governance of migration since leaving the European Union. Catherine Craven explains what we mean when we talk about Migration Regimes, and shows how this works in practice. Barrister, author and Founder of Free Movement Law Colin Yeo, shares his thoughts on what has and hasn’t changed in terms of laws and polici...
2023-08-1049 minWho do we think we are?S3 E4 A New Plan for Migration? What’s changed in the UK’s approach to migration since Brexit? How has this impacted on migration flows? Who is and isn’t migrating to the UK ? In A New Plan for Migration? we consider the shape and structure of the UK’s regulation and governance of migration since leaving the European Union. Catherine Craven explains what we mean when we talk about Migration Regimes, and shows how this works in practice. Barrister, author and Founder of Free Movement Law Colin Yeo, shares his thoughts on what has and hasn’t changed in terms of laws and polici...
2023-08-1049 min
Who do we think we are?S3 E3 Bye, Bye Britain Understandings of migration are invariably reduced to immigration, framed by the policy agenda of receiving states. But what about the people who leave? And why does it matter that we remember, as French-Algerian sociologist Abdelmalek Sayad stressed, that ‘every immigrant is also an emigrant’? From the role of emigration in the making of the British empire and other European colonial powers to its neglect in public and political conversations about migration today, this episode explores what is opened up when we turn the spotlight onto those leaving the sovereign territory of a nation. Elena Zambelli explains what we mea...
2023-07-0749 minWho do we think we are?S3 E3 Bye, Bye Britain Understandings of migration are invariably reduced to immigration, framed by the policy agenda of receiving states. But what about the people who leave? And why does it matter that we remember, as French-Algerian sociologist Abdelmalek Sayad stressed, that ‘every immigrant is also an emigrant’? From the role of emigration in the making of the British empire and other European colonial powers to its neglect in public and political conversations about migration today, this episode explores what is opened up when we turn the spotlight onto those leaving the sovereign territory of a nation. Elena Zambelli explains what we mea...
2023-07-0749 min
Who do we think we are?S3 E2 Free Movement, limited We’re talking Freedom of Movement, its role in the formation of an EU–wide imagined community, and the experiences of people who have lost their FOM rights due to Brexit. Catherine Craven explains what we mean when we talk about Freedom of Movement within the EU, its institutional underpinnings and social implications. Elspeth Guild, legal scholar and counsel, joins us to talk about the history and evolution of Free Movement rights within the EU, what Freedom of Movement does for Europeans and the meaning of EU citizenship, as well as the significance of the external EU border and the p...
2023-06-0246 minWho do we think we are?S3 E2 Free Movement, limited We’re talking Freedom of Movement, its role in the formation of an EU–wide imagined community, and the experiences of people who have lost their FOM rights due to Brexit. Catherine Craven explains what we mean when we talk about Freedom of Movement within the EU, its institutional underpinnings and social implications. Elspeth Guild, legal scholar and counsel, joins us to talk about the history and evolution of Free Movement rights within the EU, what Freedom of Movement does for Europeans and the meaning of EU citizenship, as well as the significance of the external EU border and the p...
2023-06-0246 min
Who do we think we are?Of Kings, Songs and Migrants What does Eurovision have to do with the Coronation? We’re talking about what we learn about ‘Global Britain’ and its imagined community from looking at how migrants understand major cultural events. Elena Zambelli explains what social scientists mean when they talk about the imagined community. Laura Clancy, sociologist of the royal family, joins us to talk about the missing voices in conversations about the future of the British monarchy. Co-hosts Nando Sigona and Michaela Benson reflect on what British citizens living abroad, EU citizens and others who have made the UK their homes told them about how th...
2023-05-0545 minWho do we think we are?Of Kings, Songs and Migrants What does Eurovision have to do with the Coronation? We’re talking about what we learn about ‘Global Britain’ and its imagined community from looking at how migrants understand major cultural events. Elena Zambelli explains what social scientists mean when they talk about the imagined community. Laura Clancy, sociologist of the royal family, joins us to talk about the missing voices in conversations about the future of the British monarchy. Co-hosts Nando Sigona and Michaela Benson reflect on what British citizens living abroad, EU citizens and others who have made the UK their homes told them about how th...
2023-05-0545 min
Who do we think we are?S2 BONUS Behind the Scenes Here’s a little season end bonus, where our presenter, Michaela Benson and podcast researcher, George Kalivis go behind the scenes at Who do we think we are? They reflect on the origins of the series, the role of the podcast in challenging taken for granted understandings of migration and citizenship in the UK today. They unpack what goes into the making of each episode and what they’ve learned along the way. And consider the stories that didn’t make it into the series and those that stuck with them, and the importance of making audible the dialogues at the...
2023-03-3124 minWho do we think we are?S2 BONUS Behind the Scenes Here’s a little season end bonus, where our presenter, Michaela Benson and podcast researcher, George Kalivis go behind the scenes at Who do we think we are? They reflect on the origins of the series, the role of the podcast in challenging taken for granted understandings of migration and citizenship in the UK today. They unpack what goes into the making of each episode and what they’ve learned along the way. And consider the stories that didn’t make it into the series and those that stuck with them, and the importance of making audible the dialogues at the...
2023-03-3124 min
Who do we think we are?S2 E9 East-West inequalities and the remaking of unequal EuropeansWhat does the characterisation of those from Europe’s east as migrants by politicians and in some corners of the media make visible about the politics of migration? What is distinctive about the ways in which they are migratised and racialised? And what does this offer to understandings of racism and racialisation? We’re joined by Aleks Lewicki (University of Sussex) to discuss how critical race theory and postcolonial scholarship can deepen our understandings of repertoires of racism as these play out between ‘Europeans’. Presenter Michaela Benson explores how borders within Europe shifted over the course of the twentieth century...
2023-02-1740 minWho do we think we are?S2 E9 East-West inequalities and the remaking of unequal EuropeansWhat does the characterisation of those from Europe’s east as migrants by politicians and in some corners of the media make visible about the politics of migration? What is distinctive about the ways in which they are migratised and racialised? And what does this offer to understandings of racism and racialisation? We’re joined by Aleks Lewicki (University of Sussex) to discuss how critical race theory and postcolonial scholarship can deepen our understandings of repertoires of racism as these play out between ‘Europeans’. Presenter Michaela Benson explores how borders within Europe shifted over the course of the twentieth century...
2023-02-1740 min
Who do we think we are?S2 E8 Who is a migrant?There is nothing politically neutral about classifying and categorising people as migrants. This is a process through which certain individuals and populations are defined as migrants, whether they have crossed borders or not. It has political consequences and impacts for those who find themselves labelled as such. In this episode we turn to this always-political question to consider what this means for how we study and research migration. Researcher George Kalivis goes back to the 1970s to consider the Grunwick industrial dispute. Presenter Michaela Benson considers what the UK’s post-Brexit immigration system, makes visible about class and migration. An...
2023-01-2040 minWho do we think we are?S2 E8 Who is a migrant?There is nothing politically neutral about classifying and categorising people as migrants. This is a process through which certain individuals and populations are defined as migrants, whether they have crossed borders or not. It has political consequences and impacts for those who find themselves labelled as such. In this episode we turn to this always-political question to consider what this means for how we study and research migration. Researcher George Kalivis goes back to the 1970s to consider the Grunwick industrial dispute. Presenter Michaela Benson considers what the UK’s post-Brexit immigration system, makes visible about class and migration. An...
2023-01-2040 min
Who do we think we are?S2 E7 European Identities from the Aliens Act 1905 to BrexitWho is unquestionably European? From Brexit to the war in Ukraine, this question has come to the fore as people of colour have found themselves disproportionately questioned as they try to exercise their rights as European citizens. We’re joined by Bolaji Balogun (University of Sheffield) and Marius Turda (Oxford Brookes) to discuss the longer history of migration between Europe the UK, how this history interplays with the development of immigration controls in the UK (and elsewhere), and the development of European identities from the early twentieth century to the present-day. George and Michaela consider the disproportionate ch...
2022-12-0940 minWho do we think we are?S2 E7 European Identities from the Aliens Act 1905 to BrexitWho is unquestionably European? From Brexit to the war in Ukraine, this question has come to the fore as people of colour have found themselves disproportionately questioned as they try to exercise their rights as European citizens. We’re joined by Bolaji Balogun (University of Sheffield) and Marius Turda (Oxford Brookes) to discuss the longer history of migration between Europe the UK, how this history interplays with the development of immigration controls in the UK (and elsewhere), and the development of European identities from the early twentieth century to the present-day. George and Michaela consider the disproportionate ch...
2022-12-0940 min
Who do we think we are?BtH1 S7 Beyond the headlines … with Hannah LewisIn July 2022 the news broke that Sir Mo Farah, four times Olympian for Team GB, had been trafficked to the UK as a child. The headlines enhanced public understandings of trafficking. They brought into the frame the children forced into domestic servitude and the circumstances which mean that their situations may not come to light. Hosts Ala Sirriyeh and Michaela Benson are joined by Dr Hannah Lewis, University of Sheffield to discuss what trafficking is and its relationship to modern slavery and forced labour; public responses to victims of trafficking; and how the Hostile Environment further limits the possibilities...
2022-11-2530 minWho do we think we are?BtH1 S7 Beyond the headlines … with Hannah LewisIn July 2022 the news broke that Sir Mo Farah, four times Olympian for Team GB, had been trafficked to the UK as a child. The headlines enhanced public understandings of trafficking. They brought into the frame the children forced into domestic servitude and the circumstances which mean that their situations may not come to light. Hosts Ala Sirriyeh and Michaela Benson are joined by Dr Hannah Lewis, University of Sheffield to discuss what trafficking is and its relationship to modern slavery and forced labour; public responses to victims of trafficking; and how the Hostile Environment further limits the possibilities...
2022-11-2530 min
Who do we think we are?S2 E6 Imagining a new Britain, 20 years onWho do we think we are? In the early 2000s, with the beginning of the New Labour government, journalist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown asked this question, calling for a radical reimagining of who was considered as British and outlining her hopes for a new Britain. In this special episode, she joins Michaela Benson in conversation to consider why 20 years later we’re still asking the same question. She draws out the differences between now and then; shifts within the Conservative Party from Thatcher to the present-day; what this means for questions of race, migration and belonging; New Labour, migration and the Ir...
2022-11-1137 minWho do we think we are?S2 E6 Imagining a new Britain, 20 years onWho do we think we are? In the early 2000s, with the beginning of the New Labour government, journalist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown asked this question, calling for a radical reimagining of who was considered as British and outlining her hopes for a new Britain. In this special episode, she joins Michaela Benson in conversation to consider why 20 years later we’re still asking the same question. She draws out the differences between now and then; shifts within the Conservative Party from Thatcher to the present-day; what this means for questions of race, migration and belonging; New Labour, migration and the Ir...
2022-11-1137 min
Who do we think we are?BtH1 E6 Beyond the headlines … with Cecilia MenjívarFor many people, migration is about escaping persecution and state violence. But in the context increasingly criminalisation of migration, state violence may characterise the lives of immigrants. Hosts Ala Sirriyeh and Michaela Benson are joined by Professor Cecilia Menjívar to discuss her work with Central American migrants in the US. She highlights how those taking part in her empirical research from Arizona to Kansas revealed to her the ways in which the infrastructures of immigration enforcement and control in the US shape migrant lives and the parallels they draw in state violence before and after migration. And she s...
2022-10-2832 minWho do we think we are?BtH1 E6 Beyond the headlines … with Cecilia MenjívarFor many people, migration is about escaping persecution and state violence. But in the context increasingly criminalisation of migration, state violence may characterise the lives of immigrants. Hosts Ala Sirriyeh and Michaela Benson are joined by Professor Cecilia Menjívar to discuss her work with Central American migrants in the US. She highlights how those taking part in her empirical research from Arizona to Kansas revealed to her the ways in which the infrastructures of immigration enforcement and control in the US shape migrant lives and the parallels they draw in state violence before and after migration. And she s...
2022-10-2832 min
Who do we think we are?S2 E5 What can we learn about what British and EU citizenship from Brexit?As people find themselves queueing up at border controls in EU member states, as their passports are stamped, there have been questions about why these things are happening. It’s all because of Brexit, and more specifically, the end of free movement between the UK and EU which means that British citizens are no longer EU citizens. But what do you know about EU citizenship is and isn’t? In this episode we’re joined by Nando Sigona, Professor in International Migration and Forced Displacement at the University of Birmingham, to talk Brexit, EU citizenship and what this m...
2022-10-1444 minWho do we think we are?S2 E5 What can we learn about what British and EU citizenship from Brexit?As people find themselves queueing up at border controls in EU member states, as their passports are stamped, there have been questions about why these things are happening. It’s all because of Brexit, and more specifically, the end of free movement between the UK and EU which means that British citizens are no longer EU citizens. But what do you know about EU citizenship is and isn’t? In this episode we’re joined by Nando Sigona, Professor in International Migration and Forced Displacement at the University of Birmingham, to talk Brexit, EU citizenship and what this m...
2022-10-1444 min
Who do we think we are?BtH1 S5 Beyond the headlines … with Colin YeoWith a new UK cabinet comes a new Home Secretary, Suella Braverman MP former Attorney General. While there has been a lot of focus on her politics, what does this mean for the Home Office and in particular its approach to immigration? Hosts Ala Sirriyeh and Michaela Benson are joined by Colin Yeo, Barrister at Garden Court Chambers and editor of the Free Movement blog, to talk about all this and consider how it sits in the decade-long context of the Hostile Environment. While our headline focusses on her pledge to bring the numbers of people crossing the Channel...
2022-09-3024 minWho do we think we are?BtH1 S5 Beyond the headlines … with Colin YeoWith a new UK cabinet comes a new Home Secretary, Suella Braverman MP former Attorney General. While there has been a lot of focus on her politics, what does this mean for the Home Office and in particular its approach to immigration? Hosts Ala Sirriyeh and Michaela Benson are joined by Colin Yeo, Barrister at Garden Court Chambers and editor of the Free Movement blog, to talk about all this and consider how it sits in the decade-long context of the Hostile Environment. While our headline focusses on her pledge to bring the numbers of people crossing the Channel...
2022-09-3024 min
Who do we think we are?What do family migration rules reveal about British citizenship today?You start a relationship with someone living abroad. As the relationship gets serious, you decide to take the next steps and live together. But there's a border in the way. We’re joined by Ala Sirriyeh, senior lecturer in sociology at Lancaster University to talk about how borders disrupt and remake families, why as a British citizen your non-British family members are not exempt from immigration controls and what this tells us about British citizenship today. George Kalivis goes back into the archive to look at the secret deportation of Chinese merchant seamen from Liverpool after WW2 an...
2022-09-1642 minWho do we think we are?What do family migration rules reveal about British citizenship today?You start a relationship with someone living abroad. As the relationship gets serious, you decide to take the next steps and live together. But there's a border in the way. We’re joined by Ala Sirriyeh, senior lecturer in sociology at Lancaster University to talk about how borders disrupt and remake families, why as a British citizen your non-British family members are not exempt from immigration controls and what this tells us about British citizenship today. George Kalivis goes back into the archive to look at the secret deportation of Chinese merchant seamen from Liverpool after WW2 an...
2022-09-1642 min
Who do we think we are?How do protest and resistance make citizens and citizenship?Over the past few years, international media has been full of reports of protest among them the global Black Lives matter protests, the uprisings in Hong Kong, and Extinction Rebellion. Beyond these social movements, we have seen community action aimed at resisting immigration raids and standing up for trans- and migrant rights among others. These acts of resistance and protest reveal another side to citizenship, where those not granted rights take matters into their own hands and claim their right to claim in their struggles against injustice. In this episode, we consider citizenship through a lens onto r...
2022-08-1943 minWho do we think we are?How do protest and resistance make citizens and citizenship?Over the past few years, international media has been full of reports of protest among them the global Black Lives matter protests, the uprisings in Hong Kong, and Extinction Rebellion. Beyond these social movements, we have seen community action aimed at resisting immigration raids and standing up for trans- and migrant rights among others. These acts of resistance and protest reveal another side to citizenship, where those not granted rights take matters into their own hands and claim their right to claim in their struggles against injustice. In this episode, we consider citizenship through a lens onto r...
2022-08-1943 min
Who do we think we are?Beyond the Headlines...with Zrinka BraloIn May 2012 Home Secretary Theresa May vowed to create ‘a really hostile environment for illegal migrants’, heralding in a set of policies which require landlords, employers, healthcare workers and others to check people’s immigration documents, which creates a barrier to accessing work, housing, healthcare, banking and other services. Most of these measures were introduced through the Immigration Act 2014 and expanded in the Immigration Act 2016. But what has been the impact of the decade-long political project to make the UK ‘tough on immigration’? In this episode Michaela Benson and Ala Sirriyeh are joined by Zrinka Bralo, CEO Migrants Or...
2022-07-0836 minWho do we think we are?Beyond the Headlines...with Zrinka BraloIn May 2012 Home Secretary Theresa May vowed to create ‘a really hostile environment for illegal migrants’, heralding in a set of policies which require landlords, employers, healthcare workers and others to check people’s immigration documents, which creates a barrier to accessing work, housing, healthcare, banking and other services. Most of these measures were introduced through the Immigration Act 2014 and expanded in the Immigration Act 2016. But what has been the impact of the decade-long political project to make the UK ‘tough on immigration’? In this episode Michaela Benson and Ala Sirriyeh are joined by Zrinka Bralo, CEO Migrants Or...
2022-07-0836 min
Who do we think we are?What does British citizenship have to do with Global Social Inequalities?Commonplace understandings of citizenship equate it with equality – at least among those holding the same citizenship. But looking the processes by which national citizenships develop shows that gaining equality for some was achieved at the expense of others, who might never be considered as equal. How might shifting scale to the global transform how we think about the development of British citizenship? Join us as we explore the relationship between the development of national citizenships and global social inequalities. Presenter Michaela Benson reflects on what is overlooked in the focus on the equalising potential of citizenship. George Kal...
2022-06-2445 minWho do we think we are?What does British citizenship have to do with Global Social Inequalities?Commonplace understandings of citizenship equate it with equality – at least among those holding the same citizenship. But looking the processes by which national citizenships develop shows that gaining equality for some was achieved at the expense of others, who might never be considered as equal. How might shifting scale to the global transform how we think about the development of British citizenship? Join us as we explore the relationship between the development of national citizenships and global social inequalities. Presenter Michaela Benson reflects on what is overlooked in the focus on the equalising potential of citizenship. George Kal...
2022-06-2445 min
Who do we think we are?Beyond the headlines … with Aaron WinterMass shooting in the US have been headlines news over the past month. The pattern? White gunmen opening fire in supermarkets, schools and public spaces, killing and injuring black, brown and hispanic people going about their daily business. Journalists, commentators and politicians have rallied to try and explain these horrific incidents, identifying the role of the ‘Great Replacement’ theory in motivating the actions of lone shooters. But what do these explanations overlook and shield from view? In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, Michaela Benson and Ala Sirriyeh are joined by Aaron Winter, who researches racism, hate crime...
2022-06-1033 minWho do we think we are?Beyond the headlines … with Aaron WinterMass shooting in the US have been headlines news over the past month. The pattern? White gunmen opening fire in supermarkets, schools and public spaces, killing and injuring black, brown and hispanic people going about their daily business. Journalists, commentators and politicians have rallied to try and explain these horrific incidents, identifying the role of the ‘Great Replacement’ theory in motivating the actions of lone shooters. But what do these explanations overlook and shield from view? In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, Michaela Benson and Ala Sirriyeh are joined by Aaron Winter, who researches racism, hate crime...
2022-06-1033 min
Who do we think we are?What does the Nationality and Borders Act mean for British citizenship?What is the UK’s Nationality and Borders Act? How does it relate to previous acts concerned with nationality and immigration legislation? What is the back story to some of the central changes that this act introduces? We cover all of this and more in this bumper episode to mark the start of Series 2 of Who do we think we are? Presenter Michaela Benson introduces the Nationality and Borders Act and how this sits in a longer history of Acts which considers changes to nationality and immigration legislation alongside one another. She also joins podcast researcher George Ka...
2022-05-2750 minWho do we think we are?What does the Nationality and Borders Act mean for British citizenship?What is the UK’s Nationality and Borders Act? How does it relate to previous acts concerned with nationality and immigration legislation? What is the back story to some of the central changes that this act introduces? We cover all of this and more in this bumper episode to mark the start of Series 2 of Who do we think we are? Presenter Michaela Benson introduces the Nationality and Borders Act and how this sits in a longer history of Acts which considers changes to nationality and immigration legislation alongside one another. She also joins podcast researcher George Ka...
2022-05-2750 min
Who do we think we are?Beyond the Headlines ... with Dr Yvonne SuCountries around the world have been quick to crow about the provisions they are putting in place to welcome those displaced by the war in Ukraine. Yet, all might not be what it seems. In this first episode of Beyond the Headlines, hosts Dr Ala Sirriyeh and Professor Michaela Benson are in conversation with Dr Yvonne Su, York University to examine what the headlines announcing a warm welcome to Ukrainian refugees in Poland and the UK shield from view. We explore how even among those displaced by the war, not everyone has equal access to leaving Ukraine...
2022-05-1336 minWho do we think we are?Beyond the Headlines ... with Dr Yvonne SuCountries around the world have been quick to crow about the provisions they are putting in place to welcome those displaced by the war in Ukraine. Yet, all might not be what it seems. In this first episode of Beyond the Headlines, hosts Dr Ala Sirriyeh and Professor Michaela Benson are in conversation with Dr Yvonne Su, York University to examine what the headlines announcing a warm welcome to Ukrainian refugees in Poland and the UK shield from view. We explore how even among those displaced by the war, not everyone has equal access to leaving Ukraine...
2022-05-1336 min
Who do we think we are?What can we learn about British citizenship from the Chagos Islanders? What rights to citizenship do those from Britain’s 14 remaining overseas territories? What about those who through no fault of their own found themselves displaced and exiled from the territories through which they could claim this right? In Episode 10, we look indepth at the case of the Chagos Islanders and the consequences of their forced displacement from the British Indian Ocean Territories for their access to British citizenship. Michaela Benson explains the emergence of the British Overseas Territories Act 2002 and how this departed from previous transformations to the citizenship provisions for those in Britain’s overseas territories and w...
2022-03-1834 minWho do we think we are?What can we learn about British citizenship from the Chagos Islanders? What rights to citizenship do those from Britain’s 14 remaining overseas territories? What about those who through no fault of their own found themselves displaced and exiled from the territories through which they could claim this right? In Episode 10, we look indepth at the case of the Chagos Islanders and the consequences of their forced displacement from the British Indian Ocean Territories for their access to British citizenship. Michaela Benson explains the emergence of the British Overseas Territories Act 2002 and how this departed from previous transformations to the citizenship provisions for those in Britain’s overseas territories and w...
2022-03-1834 min
Who do we think we are?What can English-language testing for the purposes of immigration and citizenship tell us about who counts as British today?Should the ability to speak English be a precondition for access to rights and belonging in Britain today? What is really tested for in English-language testing for the purposes of migration and naturalisation? How is this connected to the global dominance of English as a ‘world language’? And what links this to the increasing hostility experienced by those speaking languages other than English in public space in Britain today? It might seem common sense that to live in a country you should be able to speak the language. But looking at the relatively short history of language testing into the...
2022-01-2136 minWho do we think we are?What can English-language testing for the purposes of immigration and citizenship tell us about who counts as British today?Should the ability to speak English be a precondition for access to rights and belonging in Britain today? What is really tested for in English-language testing for the purposes of migration and naturalisation? How is this connected to the global dominance of English as a ‘world language’? And what links this to the increasing hostility experienced by those speaking languages other than English in public space in Britain today? It might seem common sense that to live in a country you should be able to speak the language. But looking at the relatively short history of language testing into the...
2022-01-2136 min
Who do we think we are?What can the Hong Kong BN(O) visa tell us about borders and belonging in Britain today? When National Security Law was imposed in Hong Kong SAR in 2020, the UK government responded by opening up a bespoke visa scheme to facilitate the migration and settlement of Hong Kongers in the UK. Upheld by the UK’s Home Office as evidence of the UK’s ‘fair and generous’ approach to immigration, on the surface it seems like an exception to the Hostile Environment. But what if all was not as it seems? In this episode, we explore the back story to this new visa, to ask the question what can the Hong Kong BN(O) visa tell us about Bri...
2022-01-0732 minWho do we think we are?What can the Hong Kong BN(O) visa tell us about borders and belonging in Britain today? When National Security Law was imposed in Hong Kong SAR in 2020, the UK government responded by opening up a bespoke visa scheme to facilitate the migration and settlement of Hong Kongers in the UK. Upheld by the UK’s Home Office as evidence of the UK’s ‘fair and generous’ approach to immigration, on the surface it seems like an exception to the Hostile Environment. But what if all was not as it seems? In this episode, we explore the back story to this new visa, to ask the question what can the Hong Kong BN(O) visa tell us about Bri...
2022-01-0732 min
Who do we think we are?What can the UK’s citizenship test tell us about the shape of Britishness today?What do you know about the UK’s citizenship test? What do you think it tests for and how? What do you think it can tell us about the shape Britishness today? In this episode, we look in-depth at the developing UK’s citizenship testing regime from its introduction in 2002 to its current form. Presenter Michaela Benson explores how in 2002 the then Labour Government introduced the Life in the UK test, language testing and compulsory citizenship ceremonies for those seeking to naturalise as British citizens. She highlights in particularly how these changes took place against the backdrop of 9...
2021-12-1030 minWho do we think we are?What can the UK’s citizenship test tell us about the shape of Britishness today?What do you know about the UK’s citizenship test? What do you think it tests for and how? What do you think it can tell us about the shape Britishness today? In this episode, we look in-depth at the developing UK’s citizenship testing regime from its introduction in 2002 to its current form. Presenter Michaela Benson explores how in 2002 the then Labour Government introduced the Life in the UK test, language testing and compulsory citizenship ceremonies for those seeking to naturalise as British citizens. She highlights in particularly how these changes took place against the backdrop of 9...
2021-12-1030 min
Who do we think we are?How the British Nationality Act 1981 laid the foundations for a stateless population within Britain's borders What do we think citizenship is? When you think of citizenship you probably think of it as progressive, as giving rights to people. But what if it wasn’t? In this episode, we look at the darker side of British citizenship where, over time, who has access to the rights of citizens has become increasingly restricted. Host Michaela Benson explores the British Nationality Act 1981 (BNA1981) in a little bit more detail, which set the stage for British citizenship as we know it today. She highlights some of the headlines of this act from the how this mapped citizenship onto the ter...
2021-11-2626 minWho do we think we are?How the British Nationality Act 1981 laid the foundations for a stateless population within Britain's borders What do we think citizenship is? When you think of citizenship you probably think of it as progressive, as giving rights to people. But what if it wasn’t? In this episode, we look at the darker side of British citizenship where, over time, who has access to the rights of citizens has become increasingly restricted. Host Michaela Benson explores the British Nationality Act 1981 (BNA1981) in a little bit more detail, which set the stage for British citizenship as we know it today. She highlights some of the headlines of this act from the how this mapped citizenship onto the ter...
2021-11-2626 min
Who do we think we are?How the Commonwealth Immigration Acts laid the foundations for the Windrush Deportation ScandalHow did changes in the UK's immigrations laws in the 1960s and 1970s set the stage for the Windrush deportation scandal? What can we learn about the racialised politics of belonging and migration in Britain today from looking at the historical transformation of immigration legislation? In this episode, we look at how immigration controls were introduced in ways that explicitly restricted the movement to and settlement in the UK of Britain's racialised colonial citizens. Host Michaela Benson explains how changes in law which made some British citizens deportable from the UK and how these transformations in law...
2021-11-1223 minWho do we think we are?How the Commonwealth Immigration Acts laid the foundations for the Windrush Deportation ScandalHow did changes in the UK's immigrations laws in the 1960s and 1970s set the stage for the Windrush deportation scandal? What can we learn about the racialised politics of belonging and migration in Britain today from looking at the historical transformation of immigration legislation? In this episode, we look at how immigration controls were introduced in ways that explicitly restricted the movement to and settlement in the UK of Britain's racialised colonial citizens. Host Michaela Benson explains how changes in law which made some British citizens deportable from the UK and how these transformations in law...
2021-11-1223 min
Who do we think we are?BONUS: Talking about citizenship in ‘Global Britain’Recorded live at the virtual launch event hosted by the Centre for Alternatives to Social and Economic Inequalities, Lancaster University, 21 October 2021, Talking about citizenship in ‘Global Britain’ brings together Chantelle Lewis (Surviving Society, University of Oxford); podcast host and producer Michaela Benson (Lancaster University) and podcast researcher George Kalivis (Goldsmiths) to talk about the conversations we need to be having about citizenship and how social science research can help to debunk taken-for-granted understandings of who is a citizen and who is a migrant. They explore why the back story to Britain’s contemporary citizenship-migration regime matters, how the past and prese...
2021-11-091h 27Who do we think we are?BONUS: Talking about citizenship in ‘Global Britain’Recorded live at the virtual launch event hosted by the Centre for Alternatives to Social and Economic Inequalities, Lancaster University, 21 October 2021, Talking about citizenship in ‘Global Britain’ brings together Chantelle Lewis (Surviving Society, University of Oxford); podcast host and producer Michaela Benson (Lancaster University) and podcast researcher George Kalivis (Goldsmiths) to talk about the conversations we need to be having about citizenship and how social science research can help to debunk taken-for-granted understandings of who is a citizen and who is a migrant. They explore why the back story to Britain’s contemporary citizenship-migration regime matters, how the past and prese...
2021-11-091h 27
Who do we think we are?What can the development of immigration legislation tell us about citizenship in Britain?Why do changes in Britain's immigration laws matter for making sense of citizenship today? What is the relationship of these changes to Britain's shift from empire to nation-state? In this episode, host Michaela Benson explains how decolonisation and the independence struggles of Britain's former colonies set the stage for citizenship to emerge in Britain. She explores the shift from subjecthood to citizenship and what this meant for people around the British Empire. Podcast researcher George Kalivis goes back into the archive to explore the introduction of the British Nationality Act 1948. They are joined by Devyani Prabhat, Professor of Law...
2021-10-2926 minWho do we think we are?What can the development of immigration legislation tell us about citizenship in Britain?Why do changes in Britain's immigration laws matter for making sense of citizenship today? What is the relationship of these changes to Britain's shift from empire to nation-state? In this episode, host Michaela Benson explains how decolonisation and the independence struggles of Britain's former colonies set the stage for citizenship to emerge in Britain. She explores the shift from subjecthood to citizenship and what this meant for people around the British Empire. Podcast researcher George Kalivis goes back into the archive to explore the introduction of the British Nationality Act 1948. They are joined by Devyani Prabhat, Professor of Law...
2021-10-2926 min
Who do we think we are?Why we need to look at history to understand British citizenship today?Did you know that the current definition of British citizenship is only 40 years old? Who do we think we are? starts its exploration of British citizenship by looking at the history of British citizenship, and how remembering that the question of who counts as British has changed alongside shifts in Britain’s position in the world might make us think again about these questions and their consequences in the present-day. In this episode, host Michaela Benson, a sociologist specialising in questions of citizenship and migration, draws on her family history to bring the story of British citizenship in the se...
2021-10-1525 minWho do we think we are?Why we need to look at history to understand British citizenship today?Did you know that the current definition of British citizenship is only 40 years old? Who do we think we are? starts its exploration of British citizenship by looking at the history of British citizenship, and how remembering that the question of who counts as British has changed alongside shifts in Britain’s position in the world might make us think again about these questions and their consequences in the present-day. In this episode, host Michaela Benson, a sociologist specialising in questions of citizenship and migration, draws on her family history to bring the story of British citizenship in the se...
2021-10-1525 min
Who do we think we are?TRAILER: Who do we think we are?Who do we think we are? is a podcast focussed on the conversations we need to be having about British citizenship today. It tells the story of how British citizenship developed and why this matters for questions of migration, citizenship and belonging in Britain today. The trailer identifies some of the issues covered in the series, from the removal of birthright citizenship through the British Nationality Act 1981 to how Britain was made as a white nation-state through immigration and nationality legislation. The episode features contributors to the series Gurminder Bhambra, Devyani Prabhat, Elsa Oommen, Imogen Tyler, John Vassiliou and...
2021-09-2206 minWho do we think we are?TRAILER: Who do we think we are?Who do we think we are? is a podcast focussed on the conversations we need to be having about British citizenship today. It tells the story of how British citizenship developed and why this matters for questions of migration, citizenship and belonging in Britain today. The trailer identifies some of the issues covered in the series, from the removal of birthright citizenship through the British Nationality Act 1981 to how Britain was made as a white nation-state through immigration and nationality legislation. The episode features contributors to the series Gurminder Bhambra, Devyani Prabhat, Elsa Oommen, Imogen Tyler, John Vassiliou and...
2021-09-2206 min
Brexit Brits AbroadLiving in Spain … nearly 40 years onBritish migration to the Spanish coastline is only part of the story about British emigration to Spain. In this episode Michaela is joined down the line by Michael Harris, British in Europe steering committee member, founder of Eurocitizens, who has been living in Madrid for close to 40 years. He shares his migration story, from fleeing Thatcher’s Britain to living in Spain in the 1980s, the conditions and circumstances which shaped this. He draws out his understanding of what it means to be European and how this overlaps with other identities, and the importance of campaigning for and defending th...
2020-08-1424 min
Brexit Brits AbroadSocial mobility, Free Movement and the impermanence of citizenship rightsA lesser known story of British migration to the EU is how it interplays with social mobility. In this episode, Michaela is joined by Fiona Godfrey, co-chair of British in Europe, a resident of Luxembourg to bust the myth that British citizens living in Europe are wealthy and originate in the south England. They discuss her migration biography from Barnsley to Luxembourg, an intimate family history of the precariousness of citizenship rights, and the multiple challenges of advocating for the rights of British citizens living in the EU.
2020-07-3129 min
Brexit Brits AbroadBrexit and the British in PolandWe’re travelling to Poland today, as Michaela talks with Steve Davies, who is studying for his PhD in Sociology at the Polish Academy of Sciences. From the fall of the Berlin Wall to Brexit, Steve introduces us to a lesser known story of intra-EU mobility: the migration and settlement of British citizens in Poland. He highlights how Poland’s history, its position within the EU shapes migration and British experiences of life there; and reflects on how British-Polish families, a success of European integration, navigate migration, transnational relationships and Brexit together. You can read Steve’s...
2020-07-0321 min
Brexit Brits AbroadBrexit in the real lives of British citizens living in the EU27: Lisa in FranceRecorded earlier this year, in the episode Michaela talks with Lisa in France. In her thirties and married to a French man, she talks about what the EU has meant for her and her life. Moving within Europe as a student and in the first stages of her career, she eventually settled in France with her husband. But this was never the firm plan, just the outcome of changing jobs and personal circumstances. And there were moments when moving to the UK might also have been on the cards, including in the lead up to Brexit. Living in Europe...
2020-06-1923 min
Brexit Brits AbroadAdvocating for British in Europe, from Referendum to COVID-19In the wake of the Brexit referendum, British citizens living across Europe started to come together in an unprecedented way, concerned about what Brexit might mean for their future legal status. In this episode, Michaela is joined by Jane Golding, co-chair of British in Europe to talk about the grassroots legal advocacy work on the future rights of British citizens living in the EU26 that they have been doing since the Brexit referendum. They discuss the movements pan-European journey from the Referendum to the present, the struggles for citizens’ rights and ongoing concerns about the implementation of the Withdrawal Ag...
2020-06-0526 min
Brexit Brits AbroadBrexit and the British in France, three years onIt’s the second of this week’s double-bill to mark the release of our latest reports! Michaela and Karen discuss the report drawing across three years of researching Brexit in the lives of Britons living in France. They talk about making sense of the ongoing uncertainty that Brexit has introduced to the lives of many Britons in France, and what this might tell us about how the negotiations and their impacts on the human lives at the core of citizens’ rights might have been managed differently. They explore personal experiences of Brexit from the relationships that these Britons have w...
2020-03-0631 min
Brexit Brits AbroadBrexit and the British in Spain, three years onThis week we’re bringing you a double-bill to mark the release of our latest reports. In this first episode, Michaela is joined by Karen to talk about her report drawing across three years of researching Brexit in the lives of Britons living in Spain. They discuss the importance of locating Brexit within the context and conditions of British migration and settlement in Spain over time; the ongoing confusion about what Brexit means for their lives and futures; and the ever-present spectre of stereotypes about these British citizens and their lives in Spain. As their experience of Brexit makes cl...
2020-03-0627 min
Brexit Brits AbroadThe British in Berlin, from the Berlin Wall to gentrification and the creative classesRecorded in Berlin in November 2019, in this episode Michaela is joined by Christy Kulz, Technical University Berlin and Christine Barwick, Centre Marc Bloch, to talk about the migration of British citizens to Berlin. We disturb some of the reductive narratives about the British in Berlin, in particular, understandings that see them solely as the young, creative industry workers. We question instead what the migration of these younger Britons reveals about contemporary urban and economic transformations in Europe. Further, we reposition these migrations in a longer history and the context of Berlin as a city past and present.
2020-02-2828 min
Brexit Brits AbroadFrom the ‘Brexit Irish’ to the English in IrelandSticking with the theme of Brexit and Ireland, Michaela is joined by Vikki Barry Brown, a PhD candidate from Queen Mary, University of London, to talk about Irish passports, English and Irish identities, and Brexit. They discuss the rise in applications of Irish passport following Brexit and how the significance placed on this by those claiming these passports (through ancestry) extends beyond pragmatic and legal issues, into questions of identity, the experience a site for uncovering previously hidden family histories. Turning to Vikki’s PhD research about the English in Ireland, they talk about this hidden population, from the co...
2020-02-0725 min
Brexit Brits AbroadThe Irish border and bordering practices before and after BrexitSince the recording of this podcast, the election returned a majority Conservative government in Westminster which has since passed the Withdrawal Agreement for leaving the EU. A transition period, lasting at least until the end of 2020, should mean British citizens in EU countries will retain their current rights until at least that period. If you are worried about your situation, you can get advice from independent organisations such as the Immigrant Council of Ireland (https://www.immigrantcouncil.ie/contact). We’re back to Ireland in today’s episode. Joined by Luke Butterly, a journalist who has focussed on b...
2020-01-2432 min
Brexit Brits AbroadA Brexit Brits Abroad RetrospectiveOur first episode of 2020, and it’s a throwback to a live recording of presentation that Michaela and Karen gave to colleagues at a conference in Umeå, Sweden. They offer some reflections on the practice of doing research with British citizens living in the EU27 over the course of the Brexit negotiations. As they draw out the complex picture of how these Britons navigate protracted uncertainty, they reflect on a set of key themes emerging from the project. In particular, they discuss the sociological importance of the observation that these Britons living in the EU27 seem to be nobody’s res...
2020-01-1031 min
Brexit Brits AbroadFrom market-based to fundamental rights in understandings of EU citizenshipThis episode sees Michaela joined by Adrienne Yong, lecturer at City Law School (https://www.city.ac.uk/people/academics/adrienne-yong), to talk legal perspectives on Brexit and citizens’ rights. Adrienne offers her analysis of what case law reveals about shifts within legal understandings of EU citizenship. She charts the trajectory of EU citizenship from its base in market citizenship—where the rights of citizenship are in the service of economic integration within the Union—towards an approach more grounded in fundamental rights which takes as a starting point the citizen. Discussing settled status for EU citizens in the UK and th...
2019-12-2028 min
Brexit Brits AbroadBrexit in the real lives of British citizens living in the EU27: Debbie Williams, founder of BrExpats hear our voiceIn the latest of our episodes focussed on Brexit in the real lives of British citizens living in the EU27, Michaela is joined over the Internet by Debbie Williams, founder of BrExpats Hear our Voice (https://brexpatshov.com). She explains how she went from never having been involved in politics beyond voting to founding this group that has had an increasing presence in campaigns for citizens’ rights. They discuss her concerns about the ways in which the human cost of Brexit has been overlooked in the negotiations, the difficulties of getting the voices of those who rights are being tra...
2019-12-1325 min
Brexit Brits AbroadBrexit inequalities, unequal Europes and unequal EuropeansIn this episode, Michaela is joined by Lorenza Antonucci (University of Birmingham) and Simone Varriale (University of Lincoln). They discuss the conclusions of their recent paper Unequal Europe, Unequal Brexit ( https://research.birmingham.ac.uk/portal/files/69623578/Antonucci_Varriale_Unequal_Europe_Current_Sociology_2019.pdf ). In particular, they focus on their call to recognise that an understanding of the inequalities at the heart of Brexit need to account for Britain’s position within the European project and the different stakes of member states within the European project. Focusing on the case of EU migrants in the UK, they discuss how the...
2019-12-0629 min
Brexit Brits AbroadBrexit in the real lives of British citizens living in the EU27: Molly and Naomi, young and highly mobile EuropeansWhat does Brexit mean for young British citizens living in the EU who have never known anything other than being European? In this episode, Michaela is joined over the Internet by Molly (in Spain) and Naomi (in Germany), campaigners for Young European Voices (https://twitter.com/youngeuvoices). Both in their twenties, they describe what Freedom of Movement has done for them and their families, their emerging sense of themselves as European in response to Brexit and their increased interest and concern about politics across Europe. As they highlight, Brexit has already had an impact on their lives, influencing their...
2019-11-2924 min
Brexit Brits AbroadBrexit in the real lives of Britons living in the EU27: Bel on racism in the Netherlands and the absence of migrant solidarity in narratives about citizens’ rights This episode sees Michaela and Chantelle return to understanding the racialised exclusions at the heart of Britishness and other European national identities. They talk with Bel Parnell-Berry (https://project-parnell.com) who lives in the Netherlands. Drawing on the work she does as the programme manager for the European Race and Imagery Foundation (https://erifonline.org), Sinterklass and other practices of blackface across Europe, she talks about the exclusion of people of colour from imaginings of who counts as European. Turning to Brexit, she highlights how campaign groups for the rights of British citizens living in the EU overlooked how the...
2019-11-1530 min
Brexit Brits AbroadThe Netherlands and their British residents in a time of BrexitMichaela is joined by Annette Schrauwen, Professor of European Integration at the University of Amsterdam (https://www.uva.nl/profiel/s/c/a.a.m.schrauwen/a.a.m.schrauwen.html?1572365609704), the co-author of the 2017 report commissioned by the City of Amsterdam outlining the possible routes for guaranteeing the future rights of British citizens living in the city (https://www.uva.nl/shared-content/subsites/amsterdam-centre-for-european-law-and-governance/en/news/2017/07/brexit-report-amsterdam). Annette explains what the Dutch authorities have been doing to secure the future rights of their British residents and the court cases raised by British citizens in the Netherlands relating to...
2019-11-0123 min
Brexit Brits AbroadBrexit in the real lives of Britons living in the EU27: Ian working across bordersIan lives in Sweden and crosses the Öresund Bridge on a daily basis for his job in Denmark. As a cross-border worker what does Brexit mean for him and others like him, now and in the future? And what does it mean for the cross border rights—pensions, healthcare, sick leave, workers rights—based on European citizenship that have been the foundation for so many cross border workers? This episode is part of a set of episodes that we have released throughout the project that focus on the human face of Brexit and what it means for British citizens living in the...
2019-10-1822 min
Brexit Brits AbroadSPECIAL BONUS EPISODE: Brexit, bordering and the British in EuropeIn today’s podcast special, Michaela and Karen get together to reflect on (some of) the sociological takeaways from the project. And it’s a really tour de force! Get ready to hear them tackle the problems at the heart of the perennial question—why don’t they just go back to Britain?—that has become all too familiar to many Britons living in Europe in a time of Brexit. They return to questions of Britain and Britishness, citizenship and racism. And in their latest discussion of bordering they highlight the need to move beyond legalistic framings, and into understandings that recogni...
2019-10-1046 min
Brexit Brits AbroadThe political mobilisation of Britons in Spain before and after BrexitOne of the notable consequences of Brexit has been the rapid rise of transnational campaign groups lobbying for the rights of British citizens living in the EU26. Such political mobilisation of the British population across Europe is unprecedented, although understandable given the challenges that Brexit presents to their lives. However, as Michaela discusses with Jeremy MacClancy (Professor in Anthropology, Oxford Brookes University), political participation by British citizens living in the EU26 through getting involved in local campaigns, in becoming town councillors—an activity that is under threat because of Brexit—is an overlooked dimension that might offer some insights into this...
2019-10-0427 min
Brexit Brits AbroadBrexit and the future of the Common Travel AreaIn this episode Michaela talks over the line with Aoife O’Donoghue, Professor of International Law and Global Governance, Durham University (https://www.dur.ac.uk/law/staff/display/?id=5868) and Colin Murray, Reader in Public Law at Newcastle University (https://www.ncl.ac.uk/nuls/staff/profile/colinmurray.html#background), about the special relationship between Britain and Ireland and in particular, the Common Travel Area. The CTA has meant that Irish citizens living the UK and British citizens living in Ireland have been treated not as foreigners or aliens, but as equivalent to citizens of each those states. But thi...
2019-09-2038 min
Brexit Brits AbroadAbout the British in Berlin and BrexitIn this episode, Michaela is joined on the line by Christine Barwick (Centre Marc Bloch, Humboldt University) to talk about her and her students’ recent research with British citizens living in Berlin. They focus in particular on how working with British citizens who live in cities opens up our understandings of who the British citizens are who live in Europe, how lifestyle interplays with other reasons for migration, and the absence of a British community. And as they discuss, Brexit has further strengthened their sense of identification with Berlin.
2019-09-0629 min
Brexit Brits AbroadWhat does it mean to be European in a changing Europe?Returning to a familiar theme of European and Europeanness, Michaela talks with guest Hannah White. Over the past two years, Hannah has been cycling around Europe on her bike, talking with ordinary Europeans about what being European means to them for the her project Outsider: journey through a changing Europe (URL: https://www.theoutsider.blog/about). We talk about how this has challenged her taken for granted understanding of European belonging. From Europe as a political project, to understanding it as a political and social identity that intersects also with up local and national politics of belonging, it emerges...
2019-08-2325 min
Brexit Brits AbroadBrexit and No Deal from the end of the British retirement dream to the Spanish citizens in LondonIn this episode Michaela is joined by Helen McCarthy, a researcher at MPI Europe and PhD candidate at Middlesex University. Recorded in the week that Boris Johnson became Prime Minister, they revisit Helen’s work about how Spanish officials were preparing for Brexit’s impacts on British retirees, draw out the different conditions and circumstances that support British lives in Spain and consider how these variously may shape the outcomes of Brexit—including in the case of No Deal—for individuals. We talk pensions, healthcare and taxation … and consider all the different actors and stakeholders caught up in securing the post-B...
2019-08-0929 min
Brexit Brits AbroadBrexit and family ties between Britain and the EUIn this conversation with Sean Rowlands, who was born and brought up abroad, moving to London to attend university, Michaela discusses the family ties between Britain and the EU. Through his perspective drawn from moving between countries, living in the EU and beyond, they discuss Brexit and what this means for his family. They discuss how his sense of belonging is informed by his relationship to people and places in Britain and beyond, zoning in on questions of Britishness and Europeanness. And through reflections on global migration regimes, they question what work Brexit may and may not do to...
2019-07-2627 min
Brexit Brits AbroadBritish-Irish migrations, Brexit and the Common Travel AreaWe’re thinking about Ireland again this week in an episode devoted to thinking about Free movement between Britain and Ireland and the long history of migration between the two countries. Ever wondered what the Common Travel Area actually is? Michaela talks to Professor Imelda Maher (https://people.ucd.ie/imelda.maher) about what it is (and isn’t), and what Brexit might mean for the future of this agreement. But what does this long relationship mean for migrations between to the two, lives, identities, and a sense of belonging? From her conversation with Professor Mary Gilmartin (https://www.mayn...
2019-04-2624 min
Brexit Brits AbroadEP039 | Can you be British and EuropeanIn this episode, Michaela Benson and Karen O’Reilly talk with Sophie. Brought up in Belgium, attending one of the European Schools, Sophie reflects on being educated to be a European citizen. Brexit has made people question taken-for-granted identities, and while what it means to be British has taken centerstage in public debates, for many of those taking part in our research this exists alongside questions of what it means to be European. For some people, this is very deeply felt, revealing that being European extends beyond its rights basis, shaping identities and supported by value systems. Brexit then, is...
2019-02-0122 min
Brexit Brits AbroadEP038 | What Brexit means for Britons in Europe to Britain as an emigration nationHosted by Chantelle Lewis, in this episode Michaela is in the hotseat the project team ask her their burning questions about Brexit and the project. Recorded before Christmas, Michaela reflects on the current state of play in respect to what Brexit means for British citizens living in Europe; how the project sits within the wider context of Britain as an emigration nation; and the future of social science research on Brexit.
2019-01-1825 min
Brexit Brits AbroadEP031 | What are sociologists doing studying Brexit?Throughout the series, we have talked the sociology of Brexit and British citizens living in the EU-27. And today is no different. Focusing on the project, Michaela reflects on the challenges of doing research in a context where the rights and entitlements, the legal and political premises that underscore how the people at the heart of the research live their lives, are in flux. With Chantelle Lewis asking the questions, Michaela reflects on the headline findings that are emerging from the project, and to talks through our responsibilities as researchers and how this aligns with a critical sociological perspective...
2018-09-0723 min
Brexit Brits AbroadEP027 | Foreign residents, Brexit and local councils: a view from Adeje, TenerifeIn this episode, Michaela speaks with Clio O’Flynn. Based in Adeje, Tenerife, Clio works in communications at the local Mayor’s office, in this role acting as a liaison between the English-speaking community and the local council. She talks to Michaela about the work she does and why she thinks it is important. As she makes clear, her role is caught up in the council's proactive approach to fostering relationships with Adeje’s foreign residents and their efforts to make the local community open and accessible to newcomers to the area. Since the UK’s decision to leave to leave th...
2018-07-1330 min
Brexit Brits AbroadEP026 | Citizenship, identity and belonging beyond BrexitIn the final installment of our three-part series recorded at the event From Mobile Citizens to Migrants, the panel locate questions of citizenship, identity and belonging brought to the fore by Brexit within longer genealogies of who is a citizen. They talk through processes of inclusion and exclusion and the workings of migration governance and citizenship rights within this. And they consider the prospect and challenges of global free movement for challenging contemporary migration regimes through which some populations are racialized and excluded, while others cross borders with relative ease. The panel is chaired by Professor Karen O’Reilly (Goldsmiths, Uni...
2018-06-2934 min
Brexit Brits AbroadEP025 | The transformation of citizens’ rights through Brexit in historical contextIn the second installment recorded at our event From Mobile Citizens to migrants, the expert panel—Aliyyah Ahad (Migration Policy Institute), Michaela Benson (Goldsmiths), Nadine El-Enany (Birkbeck), Omar Khan (Runnymede Trust), and Nando Sigona (University of Birmingham)—consider previous transformations in the rights of non-citizen populations, and how these might inform our understandings about the transformation of citizens’ rights through Brexit. Part of the broader ambitions of the event to locate this contemporary transformation within the longer history and broader politics of migration and citizenship, we talk empire, race, geopolitical inequalities, and the hostile environment; how changes to such rights...
2018-06-1538 min
Brexit Brits AbroadEP024 | From Mobile Citizens to MigrantsThis episode is the first of three recorded at our recent event From Mobile Citizens to Migrants. The event sought to relocate the discussions around citizens’ rights and what Brexit means for UK citizens living in the EU27, and EU migrants living in the UK back into the politics of migration and citizenship, migration governance and policy. In this first intervention, the panelists—Aliyyah Ahad, Michaela Benson, Nadine El-Enany, Omar Khan and Nando Sigona—talk through the distinction between mobile citizens and migrants, and what this means for the question who is a migrant?
2018-06-0146 min
Brexit Brits AbroadEP016 | About Brexit, belonging and Britishness among UK citizens in FranceWith the new year we thought we would turn things up a notch and introduce some of the sociological themes from the project. In this episode, Michaela reflects on her research talking Brexit with UK citizens in France to turn attention onto questions of belonging. She focuses in particular on how Brexit has raised questions for them about their sense of themselves as British. It asks the question of what it means for them to be British in Europe in a time of Brexit. You can find out more about Michaela’s research in France on our website: https://brexitbritsabroad.com...
2018-01-2623 min
Brexit Brits AbroadEP015 | About our research talking Brexit with Brits in the EU27In our final episode before Christmas the project team comes together to reflect on our progress with the research and the challenges of working on a live topic. Michaela introduces Katherine Collins and Chantelle Lewis who are working on the project to develop the citizens’ panel, a dynamic element of the project that seeks to track the impact of Brexit on the lives of Britons living in the EU27 as the withdrawal process unfolds. They reflect on the work they have been doing to bring in the diverse voices of Britons who have made their lives and homes in ot...
2017-12-1522 min
Brexit Brits AbroadEP006 | Talking Brexit with the British in rural FranceThis episode reports on Michaela’s recent trip to Lot to talk about Brexit with the Britons who have made this corner of rural France their homes. In conversation with Dr. Katie Higgins (Keele University) who joins us in the studio as a guest presenter, Michaela talk about what Brexit means to these Britons; their emotions, responses and reactions to the outcome of the EU referendum; and their feelings about being European, being British and Britain. Dr. Katie Higgins https://www.keele.ac.uk/gge/people/katiehiggins/
2017-08-1119 min