Eleonora Narvselius and Nada Al-Hudaid

This presentation aims to demonstrate applicability of the concept of magic for analysis of the abundant ethnographic material collected in the course of  the MaHoMe project in Denmark, Sweden and the UK. I and my co-author Nada Al-Hudaid maintain that magic can be viewed as a special form of knowledge underpinned by deeply felt emotional relationships and experiments with modes of association and connectedness (Mauss 2001/1972; Greenwood 2009).  Centering on individual experiences of displacement and on efforts to re-assemble life-worlds and facilitate well-being of migrants, we outline an innovative methodology based upon blueprints of magic rites that can establish and enhance a ‘bubble of connectivity’ in everyday life.  On the basis of our analysis of examples of ‘magic’ connectivity we would also like to discuss several epistemological implications of ‘magic home-making’.

MaHoMe - Making it Home: An Aesthetic Methodological Contribution to the Study of Migrant Home-Making and Politics of Integration. This project has received funding from NordForsk (2020-2024). It addresses migration and integration challenges by examining how migrants make and make sense of home amidst the complex and divergent politics of integration in three host societies: UK, Denmark, and Sweden. 

See more at: https://mahomeproject.com