5th ISA Forum of Sociology (6-11 July 2025)

In the field of biographical research, numerous important multi-generational studies have emerged that address the transgenerational transmission of knowledge, patterns of interpretation, memory work and trauma. Many of these studies focus on historical processes associated with collective experiences of violence and many involve cross-border processes such as flight, (forced) migration, enslavement and exile. In this session, we will focus on the intersections and overlaps between transgenerational and transnational processes. How are transgenerational processes – and more specifically memory processes – organized in transnational spaces? What changes in intergenerational dialogue when one or more generations are mobile or on the move? What role does transnationality play in processes of remembrance and memorialization?

We welcome submissions that deal with transgenerational processes in the transnational space on the basis of concrete empirical research. Possible topics include:

* Childhood in exile (as a consequence of historical processes like South African Apartheid, Latin American dictatorships, National Socialism in Germany)

* Memories of parents' and grandparents' migrations

* Dealing with the forced migration of ancestors (e.g. in the Afro-diaspora, or the Indian and Chinese diaspora)

* Migrating children and grandchildren and their links to the homeland and the ones that stay behind