Counting/Telling the Death and Disappearance of Persons in Migratory Context

Abstract

This article presents research results on the factualization systems around people’s death and disappearance, implemented by non-governmental and governmental actors, in Arizona (United States). These systems are social practices, which translate the experience (or “world”) into facts (or “reality”); in those systems, quantification plays an important role. We analyze two couple of factualization techniques: counting/mapping and listing/counting. We conclude with a threefold distinction in our case study: counting as quantification; counting as telling; and counting as mattering.