The Migrant Human Library: Use of the public space and the shifting meaning of the migratory process

Abstract

This article addresses the innovative experience represented by the Migrant Human Library, an initiative of the MIGRA collective in Talca (in the Maule Region of Chile). Using a compilation of primary and secondary sources of information, the article proposes the need to understand which discourses this experience promotes and what meaning does this attribute to the occupation of the public space. The results underline an intervention that from the perspective of "frameworks for collective action" we will refer to as "micro-mobilization", focused on the construction of integrated meanings within the context of the recent migratory flow experienced by the city. Furthermore, there is clearly an attempt being made through this experience to democratize and re-politicize the public space of an intermediate-sized city, one which is characterized by the role it plays in the surrounding agricultural zone. This urban space is conceived as a place where it is possible to exercise citizenship and promote the deconstruction of stigmas and prejudices towards migrants, through the simple act of bringing people together who don’t know each other.