Young People in Transition. A generational Analysis of Mobility, Migration, and Tourism

Abstract

The importance of reflexivity in social sciences is now undisputed. Various sociological and philosophical perspectives have pointed out the impossibility of the objective character of knowledge. Hence, social sciences categories need to be investigated questioning both researcher’s gaze and involvement in his/her empirical field, and research practices. The aim is shedding light on the process of knowledge and common sense construction. This new epistemological consciousness is particularly urgent above all in the light of the rapid pace of social and cultural change in global societies. We urgently need to perfect our theoretical and empirical tool-kit for tackling the spatial movement of contemporary social actors. The aim of my paper is to shed light on categories like migration, mobility and tourism from a ‘generational perspective’. Starting from the results of recent qualitative study on contemporary youth condition and the role that geographical mobility plays in young people’s transition to adulthood, my paper sets out to explore the categories of migration, mobility and tourism.