Building on the "studying up" trend in anthropology, this book offers a theoretically informed guide to ethnographic methods that is practical in its approach while reflecting the challenges and concerns of contemporary ethnography.

Exploring various contemporary case studies and historic cultural renditions of boat migrations undertaken by asylum seekers and refugees, this book shows that boats not only move people and cultural capital between places, but also fuel cultural fantasies, dreams of adventure and hope, along with fears of invasion and terrorism.