An Anthropological Lens on the Modern Nomadic Lifestyle with Shaun Busuttil
Description
Welcome back to season 5 (and the series finale) of The Altruistic Traveller podcast. My name is Bianca Caruana and for the past five years, I have been bringing you stories from influential change makers who are shaping our world for the better.
In this episode, I speak with Shaun Busuttil, an anthropologist and travel writer currently completing a PhD on digital nomadism at the University of Melbourne, Australia. A nomad himself for over a decade, his ethnographic research illuminates and unveils some of the struggles, challenges and existential dilemmas encountered within this hypermobile community, as well as the various strategies digital nomads employ to resolve, reconcile or overcome them. His multi-sited ethnography also situates digital nomadism within a global neoliberal political landscape and critiques the impact of this relatively privileged class of transnational actors on the communities that host them.
Shaun and I met at the Bansko Nomad Fest in June of this year. I was fascinated by his research-led reflections and insights into this modern nomadic lifestyle. Specifically, the balance we "digital nomads" endeavour to find when we value freedom but also crave community and connection.
In this discussion, we talk about the existential considerations of the life of a modern-day nomad and how location-independent individuals negotiate their identities in diverse cultural contexts. We explore the dichotomy of isolation versus community and unpack the monetisation and commodification of a sense of belonging.
Follow Shaun's research on his website: https://www.shaunbusuttil.com/
Follow Shaun's travels on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theshaunbusuttil/
United States
