Now, then, when: Working with qualitative longitudinal and intergenerational research to study pathways and imagined futures in transnational times

Abstract

This chapter represents a dialogue between a doctoral student—Jo Higginson, and her principal supervisor—Julie McLeod, whose broader program of work includes a related project, Making Futures (www.makingfutures.net). The focus of Jo’s research is the experiences of students whose families have transnational histories of work and study; she is investigating these young people’s subjectivity and views as they complete their senior years of secondary school and imagine their futures. Mirroring its subject, this chapter engages with imagination and the future tense: a prospective research journey and a possible thesis structure as, at the time of writing, fieldwork is in progress.