Introduction to Volume 1: Theories, methods and ideas

The humanities can play an important role in understanding mobility from the diachronic and spatial perspectives. Hence, mobilities—in plural—must be reimagined through a humanistic lens to find new analytical momentum in the cross-fertilisation of studies on past and present phenomena, practices and meanings. This mobility and humanities approach is explored in this two-volume book based on a range of historical and present questions to develop new insights that are meant to shape this nascent humanistic take on mobilities. Volume 1 of this book, with Theories and Methods as well as Ideas sections, suggests that mobility should be considered a very elastic and inclusive concept that results from the proximity of different disciplines, and thus the concept of mobilities must be positioned as a powerful catalyst of creative research insights and claims. This book was developed in cooperation with the Centre for Advanced Studies in Mobility & Humanities—MoHu at the Department of Historical and Geographic Sciences and the Ancient World of the University of Padova.