DESCRIBING IMMIGRANTS - COMMENTS ON SOME RECENT STUDIES ON IMMIGRATION

This article examines the relevance of the categories used, and the co nclusions that are reached, in two books which have analyzed the behav ioural factors of immigrant populations: Faire Fiance by Michele Triba lat and Le Desrin des immigres by Emmanuel Todd. By means of a detaile d analysis of the origins of the terms and classifications on which th ese studies are based, and of their analytical frameworks, the author demonstrates how the categories employed are often intended to 'justif y' an established point of view and overlook the multi-dimensional cha racter of immigration. It is suggested that the demonstrations given a re less the result of an in-depth analysis than the reflection of a pr econceived idea of differentiations and as such are integral to the de finition of the groups.