This talk illustrates the choices of some indigenous islanders of Chiloé, southern Chile, who decided to move to the town, or to other countryside settings. This relocation implied an abrupt change of lifestyle and residence; however, a definitive move has never happened and people constantly re-negotiate their residency through regular or seasonal commuting.
Does one ever really leave? Does one ever settle? Where is home, and what makes it so? I reflect on the relation between people and places in a context of change and movement, considering the different strategies people employ to minimise loss while pursuing their aspirations.
Bio:
I am a social anthropologist trained at the LSE and St Andrews University. Currently an Associate Professor at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, where I have been working for the past 15 years. Most of my academic life has been devoted to getting to know, understand and experience life in a small Chiloé island, Apiao (southern Chile). Another stream of my work is devoted to international adoption, specifically Chilean children adopted by Sardinian families.
This is a change to the previously advertised seminar.
Departmental Seminar Series Michaelmas Term 2025
3pm, Fridays of Weeks 1, 3-8.
Nissan Lecture Theatre, St Antony's College (except for Week 6).
Convened by Madeleine Reeves, Zuzanna Olszewska and Alice Millington
Week 2 is replaced by the Marett Memorial Lecture delivered by Professor Laura Bear
