故郷という概念、そしてそれに対する思いは従来万国共通であり、私たちの帰属意識に対し確固たる根拠を持つものでした。今日ではしかし、より良い機会や生活条件を求め、あるいは暴力や戦争から逃れようと、国境をもまたいでの移動が繰り返されています。こうした状況を踏まえ世界のさまざまな事例にも目を向けながら、人間心理における「故郷」の複雑な意味合いとその重要性について考察します。
  

• Discusses how the concept of home remains a central organizing influence in human life, even as people migrate for opportunities or to escape areas of conflict
• Asks what we mean by 'home', and looks at those people who either literally have no home, or whose homes are mobile and transitory
• Draws on an international array of examples to consider the full variety of human dwellings

 
Thoughts and feelings about home traditionally provided people of all cultures with a firm sense of where they belonged, and why. But with the world rapidly changing, many of our basic notions are becoming problematic. Both internationally and within countries, populations are constantly on the move, seeking better opportunities and living conditions, or an escape from violence and war. In spite of, or perhaps even because of these trends, ideas about home continue to shape the way people everywhere frame an understanding of their lives. 

In this Very Short Introduction Michael Allen Fox considers the complex meaning of home and the essential importance of place to human psychology. Drawing on a wide array of international examples he discusses what dwelling is and the variety of dwellings. Fox also looks at the politics of the concept of 'home', homelessness, refugeeism and migration, and the future of home, and argues that home remains a central organizing concept in human life.