Resumo

TINOCO-HERRERA, Mario L.. Scientific migration between México and the USA: a case of agricultural engineers. agric. soc. desarro [online]. 2008, vol.5, n.1, pp.39-51. ISSN 1870-5472.

The object of this study is the migratory experience and its meaning for a group of Mexican scientists who participate in the construction of a migration circuit between México and the USA in the field of agricultural sciences. I define this circuit of scientific migration as a historical, social and cultural fact, and in order to approach it, I base myself on the transnational perspective of migration. From this point of view, I understand the scientific migration circuit as a field of social relations that extends between México and the USA. In order to study this experience and its meaning, I turn to the historical reconstruction of the scientific migration circuit between both countries, to participant observation, to informal talks and to the collection and analysis of testimonies. I focused on three crucial moments of the migrants' experience: the one before traveling to the USA, the one produced during their stay in a North American university, and that generated upon returning to a research center in México. Likewise, three important factors which determine and make the experience and its meaning different are analyzed: gender, academic career, and attachment to the circuit.

Palavras-chave : Migration circuit; transnational social space; scientific migration; transnational migration; academic profession.