Where Are We Going? A Discussion of Mobility History in Latin America

DHAN ZUNINO SINGH

Mobility in History

Berghahn Journals

Lugar: New York; Año: 2015 vol. 6 p. 54 - 62

2296-0503

Since the launch of the T2M Yearbook in 2009, reviewers of Latin American mobility history have exhibited dissatisfaction with the way in which the topic has been addressed as often as they have highlighted the emergence of new (fresh?) and promising perspectives that outline a change in this scholarship. In contrast to the economic and political histories of transport, a certain novelty can be found in critical consideration of technologies, as well as in the recent emphasis given to culture and social practices (a history of mobility from below). But there are still pending issues that we need to tackle. This article consists of a theoretical discussion of mobility, but does not intend to give the term a fi nal defi nition. In so doing, it is important to notice that the ?mobility turn? implies a holistic approach to the movement of people, ideas, objects, and information. It suggests looking at mobilities as an assemblage of the technologies, practices, meanings, spaces, bodies, and power dynamics that make movement possible or not. A critical mobility framework also implies seeing physical movement as more than going from A to B. It views travel as a meaningful practice rather than as something to be minimized.