Mobility as ritual, status, identity

Ivaylo Ditcev

professor of cultural anthropology, Sofia University

ivayloditchev@gmail.com

Beyond necessity, being mobile has become a status symbol in our contemporary culture. Being able to leap across worlds, travel, de-cotextualize oneself and quickily re-contexualize seems to be an important characteristics of the new elites. At the other end - a rising resentment of those who have chosen or have been forced to chose a sedentary way of existence.

Keywords: mobility, identity, de/re-contexualize, elite

Ivaylo Ditcev

Ivaylo Ditcev is professor of cultural anthropology at Sofia University. He has studied in France and taught in various universities in Europe and the USA. He publishes the online journal of cultural studies SeminarBG. His research is linked to political culture, media and urban studies. His last research project concerns polular culture and politics. Among other, author of a book on migration "Desire to leave - right to settle down", Sofia 2013. Ditchev has also published literary texts and essays.