Migratory stratifications: a new analytical tool for investigating social change

Migrations serve as both a driving force and a reflection of profound social, cultural, economic, demographic and territorial transformations. They interact with global phenomena – of which they are an integral part – while simultaneously being shaped by them, exerting a significant impact on national and local contexts. At the same time, migrations constitute a total social fact, in which the entirety of human practice and experience is involved in a relationship of interdependence. This interplay unfolds within and across the social, economic, political, cultural and religious spheres, worldviews and symbolic representations. Building on these premises and adopting a diachronic perspective, it becomes possible to observe, on the one hand, how migratory phenomena actively reshape societies of origin, destination and transit. On the other hand, one can analyse the stratification of different migratory epochs – shaped by shifting global and local dynamics – through their incorporation into material artefacts and socio-cultural practices.