*Call for Papers*
International Colloquium:
*The State of International Migration in Southern Africa*
March 2008, Johannesburg
The French Institute of South Africa (IFAS -- http://www.ifas.org.za/research)
and the Forced Migration Studies Programme at the University of the
Witwatersrand (FMSP - http://migration.wits.ac.za) invite abstracts for a three
day colloquium to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa in March 2008.
Since the demise of apartheid, international migration to the Southern
tip of the African continent has undergone tremendous changes. South
Africa's transition to democracy, socio-economic instability in the rest
of the continent, and other socio-political dynamics, in Eastern Europe
and Asia have increasingly made the region a destination and point of
transit for hundreds of thousands of migrants. Despite these dramatic
changes, contemporary literature on international migration in Southern
Africa has failed to engage fully with global discussions of
international migration; has tended to replicate the focus on labour
migration; and has focused almost exclusively on migration to and within
South Africa. This conference seeks to move beyond descriptive and
policy analyses by bringing together scholarly accounts of migration
within the region.
This interdisciplinary colloquium is intended to highlight how migration
intersects with a broad range of social-economic, political, and
institutional processes and transformations. In addition to its
substantive deliberations, the conference will consider issues of
methods and the production of knowledge on migration in all its forms.
It will bring together established scholars, junior researchers, and
promising graduate students.
While considering all proposals, we particularly encourage submissions
from authors exploring the following themes:
* The historiography and methodology of international migration in
Southern Africa dealing with how knowledge on migration has been
produced and reproduced and the challenges of ethically sound
qualitative or quantitative work on migration in the region;
* Methodological issues : dealing with migrant population in a
post-apartheid, post-colonial context; dealing with asylum
seekers; ethical issues; quantitative / qualitative data : what
assessment can be made regarding the current data available, what
directions to follow;
* Public policy analysis focusing on policy formation and
implementation at local, domestic, and regional levels;
* Theoretically oriented work that synthesizes explorations of
migration in Southern Africa with broader academic concepts and
debates including, among others, transnationalism, transit,
post-national citizenship, xenophobia and racism, sovereignty,
agency and sub-alternity, and epistemic communities and
international norms;
* Longitudinal demographic analyses that empirically highlight
shifting trends of migration within, into, and out of Southern Africa;
* State of the field papers highlighting gaps in existing knowledge,
biases, and other challenges of knowledge formation and
dissemination. This may include presentation of on-going research
initiatives on international migration in Southern Africa.
The complete proceedings from the colloquium will be edited and
published online in early 2008. Selected papers from the workshop will
also be included in a seminal reference book documenting the state of
the field on international migration in Southern Africa. The book is
expected to emphasise theoretical and methodological issues.
Detailed abstracts of 3 500 characters (max.) clearly indicating the
topic, methodology, institutional background and contact details of
researcher should be sent by e-mail only before the 15th of June 2007 to:
[log in to unmask]
Papers will be selected following review by a panel of international
scholars. Applicants will be notified by the 31st of October 2007 at the
latest whether their paper is accepted. Final papers will be expected
by 1st February 2008. Priority funding for attendance will go to
researchers from and/or working in developing countries.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Note: The material contained in this communication comes to you from the
Forced Migration Discussion List which is moderated by the Refugee Studies
Centre (RSC), University of Oxford. It does not necessarily reflect the
views of the RSC or the University. If you re-print, copy, archive or
re-post this message please retain this disclaimer. Quotations or extracts
should include attribution to the original sources.
List archives are available at:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/forced-migration.html
|
