Unpacking the state in state-diaspora engagements. Workshop on Friday 22nd August 2014(10:00 – 16:00) Department of Geography, University of Leicester.
Organised by Jen Dickinson (Department of Geography, University of Leicester) & Fiona McConnell (School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford)
In recent years, debates about diasporic people's relationships with their home countries have turned to focus on the policies and practices of 'sending' states. Whilst the 'state' is most often conceptualised at the national level, through for example, the work of particular governmental departments, debates have largely overlooked the broader range of related actors and material practices involved in formulating and implementing diaspora engagement strategies. The intent of this workshop is to bring together scholars from a variety of disciplinary perspectives in order to open up critical methodological and conceptual interventions into debates about the practice and utility of state-diaspora engagements.
We invite participants to think about unpacking state-diaspora relations in a range of historical and contemporary empirical contexts. Topics might include:
- Methodological issues and challenges involved in researching state-diaspora relations
- Ethnographies of state-diaspora relationships
- The role of High Commissions, Delegations and Embassies in promoting homeland engagements
- Entanglements between sending state governments and diaspora civil society groups
- The involvement of economic actors in state diasporic engagement strategies
- The material and affective dimensions of diaspora engagement policies
- Diaspora diplomacy
If anyone is interested in attending and participating in the workshop, please contact Dr Jen Dickinson by the end of July 2014 on [log in to unmask] Participants will be asked to prepare a short presentation or research statement about their interests in state-diaspora engagements. Small travel bursaries will be available on a first come first serve basis, with priority given to post-graduate students.
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