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Dear colleagues,
we are happy to announce that we have received funding from the Deutsche
Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG for the
Workshop: South-South relations and Globalization - Chinese migrants in
Africa and African migrants in China
to be held from 19-25 January 2013 in Dakar, Senegal as part of the Point
Sud Programme. Please find below the detailed call for papers for this
conference. You are invited to send your proposals as soon as possible but
not later than 25 August 2012 to:
[log in to unmask]
We apologize for the short deadline, but since travel and accommodation
costs will be covered by the workshop, early bookings (by the workshop
administration) are required in order to accommodate participation of the
envisaged 30 panelists.
Please feel free to circulate this email and the call among your colleagues
who might be interested.
Best regards,
Karsten Giese and Laurence Marfaing
***
***
***
*************
! Call for Papers !
*************
South-South relations and Globalization - Chinese migrants in Africa and
African migrants in China Conference funded by the Deutsche
Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG as part of the Point Sud programme, Dakar,
Senegal, 19-25 January 2013 Organized by Karsten Giese (IAS) and Laurence
Marfaing (IAA), GIGA, Hamburg
*************
Relations between the People's Republic of China and African countries date
back to the 1950s, but they have gained new momentum in the past 10 years.
From the Chinese perspective Africa offers political allies, resources and
markets. Having evolved as the third largest trade partner of the African
continent China has become also more and more active in development aid and
cultural exchange. These new developments have led to an increased interest
by both the media and the scientific community. For quite some time
scholarly analysis remained largely limited to macro economical and
geopolitical issues such as China's roles in regional conflicts, in
development policy or with regard to the exploitation of mineral resources.
Independently from interstate relations and the activities of big economic
players, however, the last decade has witnessed the arrival of new actors on
the African continent: rapidly growing numbers of entrepreneurial Chinese
migrants have literally reached every corner. The number of these migrant
entrepreneurs, their families and employees is estimated to have reached up
to one million people spreading across the continent. While some scholars
focused on the effects of the temporary export of Chinese labour engaged in
large scale projects sanctioned by the Chinese and respective African
governments, the mass phenomenon of individual migration of Chinese economic
actors to the continent has long remained untackled, although profound
impacts particularly on the local level of engagement can be clearly
observed. The same can be said about the independent traders and economic
migrants from various African countries who have chosen China for their
destination and whose growing numbers by far exceed the volume of official
Sino-African exchange programmes.
Rather recently scholars have begun to turn their attention towards
analysing the coming and going of these migrants and the socio-economic
phenomena emerging from their activities, especially on the micro level. A
growing number of empirical studies have been contributing to the
understanding of the Chinese presence in African countries and of the
African presence in specific urban centres in China. But although younger
researchers in particular have introduced pioneering approaches, the
existing research literature reveals the remaining shortcomings in this
field of study: insufficient data, narrow and isolated focus only on
selected localities and countries, lack of differentiation between various
relevant actors and social groups, and last not least one-sided
specialization limited to expertise either on China or Africa.
This workshop shall provide a forum for discussing new unpublished and "work
in progress" research. We also aim at providing an opportunity for making
new contacts and for international networking between scholars at different
stages of their academic careers and hope to strengthen understanding and
future cooperation through a micro field work to be jointly conducted by
mixed small groups in Dakar as part of the conference.
Participants are expected to prepare oral presentations not longer than ten
minutes in order to allow for intensive discussion. Since the workshop will
be conducted in three languages (English, French, Chinese), we kindly ask
participants to submit in advance their full papers along with a bilingual
or trilingual summary of the main arguments. Bilingual versions of full
papers are particularly welcome. All presenters are also asked to prepare a
Power Point presentation in a language different from the one that they will
use for oral presentation. I.e. if a participant plans to present in
English, for instance, he/she is required to prepare a power point
presentation in either French or Chinese for the convenience of those
conference participants who do not speak English. Participants speaking more
than one of the conference languages will be kindly asked to assist in oral
interpretation in order to overcome the language barriers of others. All
panellists are required to participate in the entire conference.
We envisage publishing a selection of the conference papers in a high
ranking international journal and in an edited volume. The conference
organizers and panel chairs will jointly select contributions for
publication. The results of the micro field study shall be included in the
form of a research note.
*************
The workshop will be held in Dakar, Senegal from January 20 to 24, 2013 and
will be limited to 30 participants. Travel expenses including air fares,
local food and accommodation for all participants will be covered by the
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG. The conference will consist of six
thematic plenary sessions, one micro field research and one public seminar
wrapping up the conference discussions.
*************
Time Schedule
25 August 2012:
Please submit your paper proposal before 20 August 2012 to
[log in to unmask]
The proposal shall consist of title, abstract (max. 200 words), and
information on your institutional affiliation, contact details and a brief
bio. Please indicate for which of the six panels you propose your
contribution. You are free to submit paper proposals for more than one
panel.
26 August - 14 September 2012:
Participants will be selected based on a) the originality and timeliness of
their contributions b) a balanced representation of women and men and c)
giving equal consideration to scholars at different stages of their careers.
Preference will be given to new and unpublished research.
15 September 2012:
The conference organizers will inform all applicants and send invitation
letters and further information to the successful applicants. The conference
secretariat will contact the participants in order to make travel
arrangements.
15 December 2012:
Full papers (approx. 10,000 words) including a bilingual title and abstract
(max. 150 words) have to be submitted before 15 December.
*************
*************
Conference Programme
19 January
Arrival of participants (mandatory)
*************
20 January 2013
Morning session: Historical perspectives on the Chinese presence in Africa
(1)
For the first four decades since the Bandung conference (1955) of in
Sino-African relations were motivated by political and ideological
considerations. Relations were marked by actors sent by the Chinese state in
the fields of medicine, agriculture, construction and military, as well as
by scholarships China provided for Africans to study in China. Which
implications have the perceptions of China that have been constructed across
the African continent during this historical period today, if any? Do they,
for instance, influence the new Chinese economic actors' access to local
markets? How are these new actors perceived today by various social groups
and in which way have these perceptions been informed by historical
experiences?
Afternoon session: Foreign entrepreneurs in African societies (2) The recent
phenomenon of Chinese economic migration to Africa had a number of
predecessors: Both the Arab conquest and the European colonialism the
penetration of local economies by foreigners, thereby contesting prevailing
economic structures. In West Africa, mainly the presence and economic
activities of Lebanese followed by Indians and more recently migrants from
within the region itself that provoked strong reactions among local
populations and entrepreneurs. What was characteristic for these historical
processes, in which ways did they contribute to social and economic change,
and did they result in innovation?
*************
21 January 2013
Morning session: Chinese entrepreneurs in Africa (3) Chinese economic
migrants have become omnipresent across Africa: Their activities in the
trade and services sector are affecting both economy and society of their
host countries. Increasingly heterogeneous and often operating in the
informal sector questions arise with regard to whether and how the Chinese
actors in Africa are integrating into local societies: What are their
economic and social strategies, how do they compete or form partnerships
among each other and with local populations; in which way do the facilitate
or induce processes of social change locally with regard to structural
economic change, gender relations, and pervasive social norms to name a few?
And in which way - if at all - does the Chinese impact differ from the
impacts of their earlier predecessors?
Afternoon session: African entrepreneurs in China (4) African entrepreneurs
have become firmly established as economic actors in the major Chinese trade
centres. Having started their sojourns to Asia at least 25 years ago growing
numbers of African buyers have chosen several Chinese as their latest
destinations for their sojourns. In contrast to the Chinese in Africa
substantial numbers of Africans in China are forced to live dual lives as
students and entrepreneurs. What are the economic strategies of these
Africans in China, which specific problems are temporary migrants and
immigrants facing, how do they organize themselves, how do they pursue their
collective interests and how do they interact with Chinese social and
economic actors?
Introduction to the group work: „Micro field research" in Dakar The
conference organizers will introduce the field, the research locations,
institutions and individual actors to five working groups formed by the
conference participants. Each group shall be composed of at least one member
speaking Chinese and one speaking French as well as of representatives of
different disciplinary fields.
*************
22 January 2013
Joint micro field research in the working groups In small working groups the
participants jointly analyse relevant aspects of the Chinese presence in
Dakar. Main topics will be the specific perspectives of the different
actors, perceptions, cooperation and cohabitation but also conflicting
interests and potential conflicts between Senegalese and Chinese and if
relevant other groups of actors.
Group 1: Chinese entrepreneurs, local partners and employees Group 2:
Senegalese merchants/traders cooperating or competing with Chinese Group 3:
Senegalese lobby groups (commerce, production, customers) Group 4: Chinese
and Senegalese services and manufacturers Group 5: Chinese civic or
governmental bodies representing the interests of Chinese in Senegal After
conducting the micro field research, each group will discuss and evaluate
the findings and prepare a presentation for the plenary. Each group is
responsible for planning the schedule for this day. The primary goal of this
work is to initiate and deepen mutual scholarly exchange across disciplinary
and linguistic boundaries through practical cooperation.
*************
23 January 2013
Morning session: Sino-African labour relations (5) In order to interact with
African customers most Chinese entrepreneurs in Africa depend on local
employees who are employed as interpreters, shop assistants, drivers,
watchmen or production workers. African economic migrants in China have also
hired Chinese employees - a rather new phenomenon. How do distinctly
different economic and working cultures impact on labour relations; what are
the major conflict lines, and are there specific advantages and potential
for innovation inherent to these constellations?
Afternoon session: Between integration and conflict (6) The strong presence
of the Chinese migrants in Africa and their economic dominance as perceived
locally on the one hand and the strong spatial concentration of African
entrepreneurs in a few Chinese cities on the other both confront the host
societies with clearly visible others. Processes of integration,
cohabitation, participation, exclusion, marginalization, and isolation have
profound impacts on social peace and local development. Since different
groups are concerned in different manners, we need to analyse their
respective perspectives and especially the economic and political dimensions
of relevant interests and processes.
*************
24 January 2013
Public seminar: Presentation of micro field research and conference wrap up
Each small working groups will present the results of the micro field
research. Chinese and Senegalese individuals as well as representatives of
lobby groups, associations, and government bodies will be invited to this
public seminar in order to introduce their specific perspectives and
comments. Local scholars of all stages and the interested public will be
invited to join this final seminar.
*************
25 January 2013
Departure of participants
The University of Aberdeen is a charity registered in Scotland, No SC013683.
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