Ethnographing flows, (re)thinking categories

Abstract In this article we explore universes of circulations, flows and mobilities along two interconnected axes. We propose a reflection on the dynamics of managing bodies and populations in transit through categories that regulate journeys and stays, and produce (mal)adaptations. In complementary form, we also question the classificatory processes that pervade the experiences of migrants when they enter distinct regimes of producing difference and are racialized, ethnicized and generified. Our hypothesis is that the connection between these two axes involves the production, at diverse levels, of ‘out of place’ bodies.