The Imagination and Social Capital: Transnational agency and practices among Pakistani Muslims in the UK

In this article, we argue that “imagination” is an important tool in the formation of social capital for young Pakistani Muslim men and women in the city of Bradford, UK. The desire for social mobility and the ambition to overcome disadvantage becomes the drivers for change. These aspirations are supported by the transnational habitus, which acts as an important resource and encourages young people to imagine change in their everyday lives and situations. Unprecedented access to electronic media and new information and communications technologies not only assists the imagination but also invests agency in people’s everyday lives