Mobilities III: Moving on
Published online on April 08, 2014
Abstract
While the previous report made a strong case for a focus on historical geographies of mobility, this report is focused on looming future issues for geographies of mobility (and mobilities studies more generally). The report uses the recent scare over the presence of horsemeat mixed in with beef products on European supermarket shelves to consider four important themes. First, it considers the notion of ‘critical mobilities’ – mobilities which interrupt the taken-for-granted world of flows and force us to question how things move and the meanings given to those movements. Second, the report examines the theme of animal mobilities, as the movements of animals, dead or alive, often provide examples of mobilities that upset established orders. Third, it scrutinizes the importance of logistics as a process and logic that moves things, people and animals around the world. Finally, the report reflects on the practices of off-shoring and outsourcing as mobility-based practices that are proving controversial in the current political and economic climate. The conclusion reflects on the centrality of security to all of these themes and to mobility studies in general.