Kinder launches new book exploring narratives of displacement

Taubman College’s Kimberly Kinder published a new book that explores narratives of displacement from around the world. Invisible Exile: The Travel Writing of Displacement (University of Minnesota Press, 2025) analyzes 40 works written by forced and reluctant migrants and refugees, emphasizing themes of loss and alienation. 

“Situated within critical geographical concerns, Invisible Exile maps counternarratives of trauma and pain flowing from the invisible exile of those faced with the imperative of travel and migration,” writes reviewer Adam Morton, professor of political economy at the University of Sydney. “Kimberley Kinder’s theory-based discussion spatializes travel narratives ranging from issues of exploration, alienation, displacement, potential assimilation, and resources of hope to the geographical implications of ‘belonging.’”

Kinder is an associate professor of urban and regional planning and director of the graduate certificate in healthy cities. Her research focuses on cultural landscapes of activism, violence, and resilience. In Invisible Exile, she sheds light on the migrant experience, including stories of renewal and reinvention in the face of displacement. Kinder is the author of The Radical Bookstore: Counterspace for Cultural Movement (University of Minnesota Press, 2021) and DIY Detroit: Making Do in a City Without Services (University of Minnesota Press, 2016).