In this talk, Kerilyn Schewel will present her book, Moved by Modernity: How Development Shapes Migration in Rural Ethiopia; comments will be provided by Nick Tinoco (Sociology, UCLA).
Thursday, January 29, 2026
12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
Bunche, Rm 10383
In this groundbreaking study, Kerilyn Schewel draws on extensive fieldwork in Wayisso, a rural Ethiopian village, to examine how generations of families adapted their aspirations, livelihoods, and migration strategies amid their country's tumultuous pursuit of modernization. Their stories offer rich insights into what development actually looks like in rural societies--and why it so often fuels both internal and international migration. Interweaving life histories, survey data, and ethnographic vignettes, Moved by Modernity explores how key forces of social change--political reform, education, market expansion, and foreign investment--reshape both aspirations and capabilities to migrate. Schewel shows that those who leave Wayisso are not fleeing poverty; they are often more educated, better connected, and actively seeking modern lives. Meanwhile, the poorest households remain behind, unable to migrate--trapped by the very forces assumed to push them out.
Sponsor(s): Center for Study of International Migration, UC Berkeley Interdisciplinary Migration Initiative, UC Davis Global Migration Center, UCSD Center for Comparative Immigration Studies, Seminar for Comparative Social Analysis UCLA