Tim Cresswell, "The Citizen and the Vagabond: A Politics of Mobility" (U Minnesota Press, 2026)

About this episode

Tim Cresswell discusses his book on the politics of mobility and its implications for social hierarchies and control.

An expansive treatise on the power relations that govern our movement The Citizen and the Vagabond: A Politics of Mobility (U Minnesota Press, 2026) develops a theoretical approach to the study of mobility and its relationship to the production, maintenance, and transformation of social and cultural hierarchies. Expanding upon his foundational work on the subject, Tim Cresswell examines human movement from around the globe to better understand the various forms of inequality and injustice that shape our lives. Establishing a framework for movement in terms of rhythm, speed, routes, and friction, Cresswell extends these themes to address the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, exploring what this turbulent period reveals to us about the politics of mobility. He demonstrates that while flexibility and ease of movement are typically considered markers of personal freedom, increased mobility brings with it new modes of control and surveillance. As he investigates the hierarchies and embodied experiences that emerge amid these tensions, Cresswell employs two figures: the citizen, whose mobility within and across borders is expected and accepted, and the vagabond, whose…

People in this episode

Guest: Tim Cresswell

Topics covered

• mobility
• social hierarchies
• inequality
• politics of movement
• Covid-19
• citizenship
• surveillance

Keywords

• mobility
• citizen
• vagabond
• inequality
• surveillance
• Covid-19
• social justice

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: U Minnesota Press

Books & works: The Citizen and the Vagabond: A Politics of Mobility

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