Fostering existential well-being: mobility, dwelling, and Undocumented Student Resource Centers in California

Abstract

In recent years, scholars have taken increased interest in the existential dimensions of human im/mobility largely to trace how growing numbers of persons across the globe are pressed to navigate increasingly restrictive mobility regimes. The focus on restrictive contexts has, however, deterred researchers from considering experiences of well-being in precarious conditions. This paper shows how a place-based approach to the study of im/mobility can address this gap by directing scholarly attention to supportive places that promote the well-being of various groups facing limited social conditions. Drawing upon phenomenological healthcare studies, I theorize existential well-being as a dialectic of dwelling-mobility, and study how an increasingly visible supportive place on college campuses in California—namely, the Undocumented Student Resource Center (USRC)—impacts the existential experiences of undocumented students involved in its operations. I theorize ‘place’ from a sociocultural psychological perspective, viewing USRCs as dynamic, psycho-social-material realities produced by USRC staff and students involved in distinct meaning-making practices. I then discuss research conducted with an USRC in Northern California to show how its distinct socio-material design and psychosocial practices contributed to the development of existential well-being in undocumented students. I conclude that a place-based approach to the study of existential im/mobility can shed light on well-being experiences that are not dependent on the eradication of restrictive mobility regimes and (as such) can contribute to social change.

Keywords:

• Existential well-being
• existential mobility
• mobility regimes
• undocumented students
• Undocumented Student Resource Centers
• sociocultural psychology

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Carly Offidani-Bertrand for collaborating with me to develop the research presented in this article; to Lynda Stone for helping me think through the psychological concepts discussed here; to the reviewers and editors of this special issue for helping me deepen and expand my ideas; and to the organizers and attendees of the NCCR On the Move convening in Neuchâtel--particularly Annika Lems, Tania Zittoun, and Janine Dahinden--who helped me develop my thinking around existential im/mobility in particular. Most of all, I am deeply grateful to the students and USRC coordinators who generously and courageously participated in this study to give light to the important needs and capacities of undocumented students.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).