In April, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., published World on the Move: 250,000 Years of Human Migration, authored by staff at the American Anthropological Association (AAA) and the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, and inspired by a series of programs at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. The project was led by Edward Liebow, former executive director of AAA and current Folklife research associate, with contributions by longtime Folklife curators James Deutsch and Sojin Kim.
Bringing together the latest research and perspectives on migration and displacement, the publication is a collaboration between the Center and AAA. It serves as a companion to a virtual exhibition and a traveling exhibition of the same name, which is currently touring public libraries across the country in partnership with the American Library Association. The book and accompanying exhibition seek to foster a deeper understanding of migration by showcasing diverse case studies that span cultures and historical periods.
Designed as a text for high school and college students, World on the Move serves as a valuable resource for courses in anthropology, sociology, political science, cultural geography, and immigration studies. Through a richly detailed and accessible format, the book traces major population movements through human history, the various forces that propel migration, and the many ways that migration affects us all. Chapters draw upon diverse case studies, and introduce basic terms, patterns, and processes of migration and displacement. They also explore such topics as the roles of ever-evolving genetic, archaeological, and linguistic evidence in reshaping understanding of migration.
World on the Move is available in print and e-book formats. To learn more about the beginning of this collaboration, explore the Folklife Festival programs On the Move: Migration and Immigration Today (2016), On the Move: Migration Across Generations (2017), and On the Move: Migration & Creativity (2018), which invited visitors to consider how immigration and migration both challenges and energizes culture.
For media inquiries, please email folklife@si.edu.
