CMRB – Contesting senses of belongingness in the making of a diaspora: The case of Chinese migrants’ political mobilisation in Paris

*** Apologies for Cross Posting ***

CMRB would like to invite you to the following research seminar:

Contesting senses of belongingness in the making of a diaspora: The case of Chinese migrants’ political mobilisation in Paris

Ya-Han Chuang

Time: 14:00–16:00, Wednesday 30^th January 2013

Place: EB 1 40, Docklands Campus, University of East London (
http://www.uel.ac.uk/campuses/docklands/
)

CMRB is delighted to invite you to the following research seminar:

‘Contesting senses of belongingness in the making of a diaspora: The case of Chinese migrants’ political mobilisation in Paris’, delivered by Ya-Han Chuang.

The seminar takes place 14:00–16:00, Wednesday 30th January 2013 in EB 1 40, Docklands Campus, University of East London. (
http://www.uel.ac.uk/campuses/docklands/
).

More information is included in the attached flyer.

ALL WELCOME!

Best regards,

Jamie Hakim, Research Administrator, CMRB Nira Yuval-Davis, Director, CMRB

Further details:

Contemporary studies on overseas Chinese consider them to be the agent of a “Chinese transnationalism” based on a flexible labour/capital regime and a diasporic identity (Ong and Nonini 1996, Lee 2007). How does such a form of identification interact with European societies that favour the “integration” and even the return of “assimilation” of migrant communities (Brubaker 2001)? This presentation seeks to explore such an interaction by examining the case of the Chinese community in Paris. This paper will analyze two types of mobilisation: the demonstrations “against insecurity” in 2010 and 2011, and the hesitant political mobilisation during the 2012 presidential campaign in France. Although each mobilisation was organized by actors of different social status and ideologies, all of them attempted to define the “Chinese community in France” by incorporating “the value of work” and “the right to be free from insecurity”, thus creating an exclusionary distinction and strengthening the image of the Chinese as the “model minority.” The continuum and the contrast through the two mobilisations will allow an identification of three dimensions that shape the Chinese community’s politics of belonging: the attempt of re-diasporalisation from China; the desire for recognition from French society; and the interdependence and tension between transnational entrepreneurs and the precarious young migrant workers. The seminar will conclude with a reflection on the contradictory intersection of these dimensions and its implication on migration policy.

Ya-Han Chuang is PhD Candidate in Sociology at Paris-IV Sorbonne University. She is the author of “Problematizing Chinatown : Conflits and Narratives surrounding Chinese Quarter in and around Paris” (co-author with Anne-Christine Trémon), in Tan Chee-Beng, Bernard Wong (eds.) Chinatowns. Brill and several other articles in French about new Chinese migrants’ migration process and identity configuration in Paris.

ALL WELCOME

Nira Yuval-Davis, Director of CMRB

Event: “INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT: Progress, Regress or Stasis?” UEL’s Second Undergraduate Conference

*** Apologies for Cross Posting ***

UEL Undergraduate Conference

The University of East London’s Second Undergraduate Conference 

will be taking place on Saturday  the 10th of November 2012 at the University of East London, Docklands Campus in London, England (for more information please see Venue).

The theme of the conference is “INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT: Progress, Regress or Stasis?”

The student is invited to write papers on the topics they feel are current today, and to give their views on where development work needs to change.

THE AIMS OF THE CONFERENCE ARE:

• To improve the skills and confidence of all the students involved as they write papers to deadline, debate their work in a public forum and receive feedback from academics from various backgrounds and industry leaders.
• To allow students the chance to gain recognition of their work from people outside of their universities.
• To network and develop links with students from other universities.
• To expose the students to publishers and leaders in their field.

The Conference is a one day event, and will provide varying forms of review and feedback to suit the varying levels of work that will be submitted. We welcome presentations in different forms, for example poster presentations, short documentaries and photo exhibitions. All accepted works will be presented, and some of the works will be selected for review by a panel of academic experts, charity executives and journal publishers. All participants and attendees will receive certificates for their attendance, and the participants will be given a book containing all the works that were presented at the conference.

Additionally, there will be keynote speakers on Saturday, and a networking event on the Saturday night to provide attendees with the opportunity to network with students from other universities, speakers and members of the panels.

 

Reminder: Book launch:- Gender and Cosmopolitanism by Ulrike Vieten -7 November at UEL

*** Apologies for Cross Posting ***

Hi everyone,

Gender and Cosmopolitanism in Europe

Please see the poster attached. We’re very pleased to host the book launch of Dr. Ulrike Vieten on Gender and Cosmopolitanism. Prof. Eleonore Kofman is going to be the discussant.

The event will take place on Wednesday the 7th of November, at 1.30-3.00pm At the East Building of the University of East London Docklands Campus, room EB.G.18.

For directions please folow the link
http://www.uel.ac.uk/campuses/docklands/

The book is published by Ashgate and the following introduction to the work is taken from the publication details available on their website:

Gender and Cosmopolitanism in Europe combines a feminist critique of contemporary and prominent approaches to cosmopolitanism with an in-depth analysis of historical cosmopolitanism and the manner in which gendered symbolic boundaries of national political communities in two European countries are drawn. Exploring the work of prominent scholars of new cosmopolitanism in Britain and Germany, including Held, Habermas, Beck and Bhabha, it delivers a timely intervention into current debates on globalisation, Europeanisation and social processes of transformation in and beyond specific national societies.

A rigorous examination of the emancipatory potential of current debates surrounding cosmopolitanism in Europe, this book will be of interest to sociologist and political scientists working on questions of identity, inclusion, citizenship, globalisation, cosmopolitanism and gender.

Everyone is Welcome and further details can be found within the document below, which is available for download in PDF format:

 

Course: MA in Conflict, Displacement and Human Security, UEL

*** Apologies for Cross Posting ***

School of Law and Social Sciences, University of East London, is offering a
new MA in CONFLICT, DISPLACEMENT AND HUMAN SECURITY

Programme content

The proposed programme offers an advanced and comprehensive understanding of
the relationship between conflict, displacement and human insecurity.
Distinctive features of the programme are its focus on conflict and
displacement, its people-centred approach, and its emphasis on human security
that combines both human rights and human development. The proposed programme approaches development as an important security strategy and considers displacement a measure of human security.

Conflict, displacement and human security

·         adopts an inter-disciplinary approach to the study of the conflict,
generalised violence and social inequality in contemporary global contexts
·         examines the complex intersections of global, regional and local
structures and their linkages to the changing character of conflict
·         encourages independent critical approaches to contemporary theories
of conflicts, human rights and human security
·         examines global and local dimensions of conflict, displacement and
development
·         adopts people-centred approaches to security
·         views displacement as a lived experience
·         considers links between theoretical and applied/policy issues in
conflict, displacement and development

Entry requirements

Applicants will normally have a first class or upper second-class honours
degree in a cognate area of study or comparable professional/research
experience. Under special circumstances applicants without a relevant first
degree but with substantial professional experience may be considered. These
candidates will be interviewed as part of the admission process.

Students that apply to enter stages of the programme may be admitted through
normal Accreditation of Experiential Learning (AEL) or Accreditation of
Certificated Learning (ACL) processes, or through an approved articulation
agreement. Therefore, such applicants must be able to demonstrate and
evidence that they have the required learning outcomes as listed in the
modules for which they are seeking exemption.

In the case of applicants whose first language is not English, then IELTS 6
(or equivalent) is required. International qualifications will be checked for
appropriate matriculation to UK Higher Education postgraduate programmes.

Programme structure

The programme consists of two core taught modules, choice of two options and
a dissertation.

Learning environment

The Programme is taught using a combination of methods and approaches to
teaching and learning: lectures, workshops, seminars and tutorials.
Classroom, face-to-face teaching is supported by the use of the UEL Plus
virtual learning environment. In seminars, group work is encouraged.

Assessment

All assessment is by coursework: essays, reports, presentations, research
proposal, and dissertation. All modules are assessed. The final award takes
account of all modules marks.

Relevance to work/profession

The programme is especially relevant to employment in the fields of conflict
management and resolution, humanitarian assistance and displacement, human
rights and development initiatives. It has general relevance to
non-governmental as well as government sector employment both in developing
and developed countries.

Dissertation/project work

All modules give opportunities for group work. Dissertations provide the
opportunity for focused independent research. Projects, including the
dissertation, may draw extensively on work experience.

Added value

The programme equips students with key transferable skills. By the end of the
programme students should have acquired:
·         advanced critical and evaluative abilities;
·         research management skills;
·         capabilities to design and deliver substantial written reports;
·         capabilities to design and execute social research projects;
·         high levels of competence in library and bibliographical research;
·         skills in data collection and analysis;
·         enhanced abilities in verbal presentation;
·         familiarity with means of dissemination and mobilising research
findings;
·         advanced abilities to collaborate in research groups and teams.

Your future career

The Programme prepares students for employment in the fields of development,
humanitarian assistance, displacement and human rights, and specifically in
conflict management and assistance, project development and implementation,
human rights advocacy and practice. The programme also develops skills
appropriate for further academic research in conflict, displacement,
development and human rights fields, as well as in associated areas of social
and political theory.

How we support you

All students will benefit from work in small groups, from an active tutorial
system, from training in research methods, and from access to a range of
learning resources available at UEL, including a dedicated archive on refugee
and displacement issues.

As the proposed Programme is fundamentally research-oriented, it engages
students as producers of knowledge and active members of the research
community. We support students to master critical thinking and assessment of
complex and intersecting issues in relation to conflict, development and
human security, ranging from critical analysis of social theory and concepts
to developing critical assessment of relevant policies, as well as
development and other interventions. We support students to work and learn
independently, creatively, and systematically in order to acquire knowledge
and develop analytical thinking. We support students to develop a
demonstrable respect for evidence, research and scholarship as it relates to
the specific case studies, regions or development and other interventions.

Bonus factors

All students will benefit from access to seminars, workshops and conferences
organised by the Centre on Human Rights in Conflict, the Centre for Social
Change (under validation), the Centre for Migration, Refugees and Belonging
and other University-wide Centres and Groups.

They also benefit from access to the Refugee Archive at UEL.

As an optional extra, students may be involved in internships with local and
international organisations and agencies working in the fields of
displacement, conflict, conflict resolution, human rights, humanitarian
assistance, and development.

Procedure for Admission

Applicants should normally hold a first class or upper second class honours
degree. This degree should be in a relevant field of study. Applicants
holding an honours degree in a field of study which is not of obvious
relevance may also be considered. Applicants who are not graduates but who
have relevant research or professional experience may also be considered.
Applicants are requested to supply two academic or other appropriate
references - these should be submitted at the point of application.

For further information on admission procedures and applying for the
programme please contact Diane Ball, the programme administrator, on +44(0)20
8223 2770, or d.m.ball@uel.ac.uk

Programme Leaders:
Maja Korac-Sanderson
Giorgia Dona

UEL Library Opening Hours over the Christmas Period

The following opening hours apply to UEL libraries across all sites over the festive and new year period:

• 19 – 22 December: open 24 hours
• 23 December: open until 3pm
• 24 – 26 December: CLOSED
• 27 – 30 December: 10am – 5pm
• 31 December – 2 January: CLOSED
• 3 January – 5 January: open 24 hours
• 6 January: open until 9pm
• 7 – 8 January: CLOSED
• 9 January: open 24 hours

More details of staffed and self-service opening hours can be found on the library website at www.uel.ac.uk/library

Conference: `London: City of Paradox’

Centre for Research on Migration, Refugees & Belonging (CMRB)

London – City of Paradox:   An international conference at the University of East London, 3-5 April 2012

Further details :
http://www.uel.ac.uk/cmrb/documents/LondonCityofParadoxNotice.pdf

Organised by CMRB, in co-operation with Runnymede Trust, Iniva, London East Research Institute, Raphael Samuel History Centre, Centre for Cultural Studies Research, Matrix East Research Lab, and the Centre for Performance Studies.

The Olympic Games have focused attention on London. “Official” approaches towards the Games stress the city’s inclusiveness – a history and contemporary reality in which London brings together the peoples and cultures of the world.
This is an important part of London’s stories past and present – but only a part. Recent riots have summoned other histories – of tension and conflict, of exclusion as well as inclusion – highlighting current issues of security, surveillance and the criminalisation of young Londoners. How do we evaluate these different accounts? How to understand the city in all its complexity?
This conference examines London as a site of inclusion and exclusion – a city which has both encouraged and discouraged migration and settlement, and which has stimulated both cultural heterogeneity and homogeneity. It will provide opportunities to consider how powerful institutions have shaped discourses of nation and empire, of internationalism and globalism. It will examine multiple contradictions associated with the past and the present – London, City of Paradox.

Holistic approach

The conference embraces a multi-disciplinary perspective, drawing on insights from Urban Studies, History, Sociology, Anthropology, Geography, Development Studies, Cultural Studies, Film Studies, Migration Studies and Refugee Studies. It will also address key issues in cultural production, especially in relation to public representation of cultural diversity. Participants come from academic networks and Third Sector organisations undertaking community initiatives, especially in the arts.

The organisers have identified a number of themes:

• contending histories: London as an object of historical study; London in the national narrative; “peoples’ ” histories; London, gender and history; history and community today; “official” history and the Olympic project

• London and the world: colonialism, neo-colonialism and the metropolitan city; commerce, slavery and empire; London and the neo-liberal networks; global city: London and the cities of the South

• race, racism and the city: “hidden” and “invisible” populations; inclusion and exclusion; geographies of community; immigration, work and settlement; refuge and asylum; citizenship, multiculturalism, “cohesion” and integration today

• East London: the East End in narratives of London and nation; East London and the maritime networks; the East End as refuge; East End, gender and sexuality; resistance and radicalism; regeneration and the “new” East End

• imaging and performing London: visual cultures yesterday and today – film, photography, multimedia, performance

• city and spectacle: London and the Olympic cities – global spectacle and local reality. Documenting the Olympics then and now (UEL holds the Library and Archive of the British Olympic Association, including materials on the 1948 London Olympics).

Conference format

The conference will take place from 3 to 5 April 2012 at the Docklands Campus of the University of East London. It will include plenary sessions, discussion groups and parallel panels and workshops.

All participants will have opportunities to listen to experts and activists, and to participate in collective thinking and analysis. In this way the conference will include best practices of academic and non-academic workshops. There will also be opportunities to perform, to meet local NGOs, go for walks in East London and to observe exhibitions by local artists, scholars and activists.
Among many who have already agreed to take part in the conference are (in alphabetical order):

Claire Alexander, Floya Anthias, Rob Berkeley, Penny Bernstock, Avtar Brah, Craig Calhoun, Mary Chamberlain, Matt Cook, David Feldman, Ben Gidley, David Gilbert, Paul Gilroy, Vassil Girginov, Michael Keith, Roshini Kempadoo, Yosefa Loshitzky, Philip Marfleet, Doreen Massey, Mica Nava, Ann Phoenix, Gavin Poynter, Mike Raco, Michael Rustin, Nicola Samson, Saskia Sassen, Corinne Squire, Helen Taylor, Judith Walkowitz, Vron Ware, Georgie Wemyss, Jane Wills, Jerry White and Nira Yuval-Davis.

Regular conference fee £60; concessions (unwaged, students, seniors) £30.
Refreshments included.

(You are encouraged to register for the whole conference,
facilitating active engagement in discussion groups.)

Daily rate available at the conference £25; concessions £12.
Register at: http://uel-iis-b.uel.ac.uk/cmrb/booking/

All enquiries please contact Masi Fathi: m.fathi@uel.ac.uk

UEL Docklands Campus is adjacent to Cyprus Station, Docklands Light Railway:
http://www.uel.ac.uk/campuses/docklands.htm

CMRB, University of East London, Docklands Campus, London, E16 2RD

http://ww.uel.ac.uk/cmrb/

The Centre on Human Rights in Conflict: Autumn 2011 Seminar Series

 

 

 

The Centre on Human Rights in Conflict: Autumn 2011 Seminar Series

Further details :
http://www.uel.ac.uk/chrc/about/index.htm

 

Human Rights: Ten Years After September 11th: Wednesday 28 September, 3.30 – 5pm (Room 110, Duncan House)
John Strawson, Reader and Interim Director of the Centre on Human Rights in Conflict, School of Law and Social Sciences, UEL. Refreshments provided, all welcome. For further information visit www.uel.ac.uk/chrc or contact Johanna Herman on j.herman@uel.ac.uk

Doing justice or meddling in transitions? Universal jurisdiction and Spanish prosecution of crimes committed in Rwanda and DRC: Wednesday 12 October, 3.30 – 5pm (Room 110, Duncan House)
Rosa Ana Fernandez Alija, Lecturer, University of Barcelona. This event is co-hosted by the London Transitional Justice Network. Refreshments provided, all welcome. For further information visit www.uel.ac.uk/chrc or contact Johanna Herman on j.herman@uel.ac.uk

Migrant workers and camel jockeys: a look at exploitation in the Gulf: Wednesday 26 October, 3.30 – 5pm (Room 110, Duncan House)
David Keane, Lecturer, Department of Law, Middlesex University. Refreshments provided, all welcome. For further information visit www.uel.ac.uk/chrc or contact Johanna Herman on j.herman@uel.ac.uk

Gender-based violence in war and the question of accountability: the case of Bosnia: Wednesday 9 November, 3.30 – 5pm (Room 110, Duncan House)
Maja Korac, Reader, School of Law and Social Sciences, and Olga Martin-Ortega, Senior Research Fellow, Centre on Human Rights in Conflict, School of Law and Social Sciences (UEL). Chair: Johanna Herman, Centre on Human Rights in Conflict, UEL. For further information visit www.uel.ac.uk/chrc or contact Johanna Herman on j.herman@uel.ac.uk

The Human-Rights Compliance of UK Anti-Terrorism Legislation in the Light of Domestic and International Case Law: Wednesday 23 November, 3.30 – 5pm (Room 110, Duncan House)
Carmen Draghici, Lecturer, School of Law, City University. For further information visit www.uel.ac.uk/chrc or contact Johanna Herman on j.herman@uel.ac.uk

Easter Open/Closure Times over Easter, 2011

I just wanted to take this opportunity to let you all know the opening and closure times for the Refugee Council Archive over the Easter period.  The relevant details are as follows:

Opening Hours for Week Beginning : Monday 18^th April

Monday 18^th April : 1pm – 6pm

Tuesday 19^th April : 10am – 6pm

Wednesday 20^th April: 10am – 6pm

Thursday 21^st April:  10am – 1pm

The Archive will then be Closed between Friday 22 April and Friday 6 May and will re-open from Monday 9 May as usual.

 I will be away on annual leave for most of this period so if you do have any enquiries, please send them to me via e-mail at: p.v.dudman@uel.ac.uk and I will do my best to respond to hem on my return to the office.  My last day in the office before Easter will be Thursday 21 April between 10am and 1pm.

Details of the Docklands Library opening hours over the Easter period can be found on the website at: 
http://www.uel.ac.uk/lls/about/openinghours.htm

Archive Weekly Newsletter Number 4

The latest copy of our new weekly Archives Newsletter is now available.  Copies can also be found online at:

Our Website: 
http://www.uel.ac.uk/rca/newsletter.htm

Our Blog: 
http://refugeearchives.wordpress.com/weekly-newsletter/

The newsletter is also distributed, along with other useful messages and emails, via our Email list.  Further details can be found at: 
https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=REFUGEE-RESEARCH

CARA Event at UEL

The Council for Assisting Refugee Academics (CARA)  would kindly like to invite you to an upcoming event

‘Academic Freedom in the 21st Century’
15th April , 5:30-6:30pm
University of East London, Docklands campus, East Building G08

A panel discussion of three academic refugees, chaired by Mark Stephens,  Index on Censorship.

Wherever there is a dictatorship or totalitarian regime, its first quarrel is with those who oppose. They are often found in universities, places where teaching and research should flourish. Around the world, university lecturers and researchers can face persecution, imprisonment and torture for challenging those in power. The three speakers will discuss the personal threats and difficulties in carrying out their academic work in Rwanda, Cameroon and Iraq.

We hope to see you there,

For further questions please email adi.cara@lsbu.ac.uk

Conference: Migration, the Media and the Message, 29-30 March 2010

Migration, the Media and the Message

Migrants using media to turn around the immigration debate

University of East London, 29-30 March 2010

A European conference jointly organised by the ‘Migrants and the Media Project’ (MMP) and CMRB for groups involved in media and cultural activities, which promote a positive engagement with the issue of migration.

Contributors to plenary sessions will include: Don Flynn (Migrants’ Rights Network), Nazek Ramadan, Aine O’Brien (FOMACS, Ireland) and Mica Nava (UEL).

Workshops include: FOMACS’ digital video-making and radio journalism (Ireland), CEPAIM’s ‘La Ruta Prometida ‘ exhibition (Spain), Mendek’s poster campaign (Hungary), Migrant Resource Centre’s ‘New Londoners’ journalism project (UK), Playback Theatre (UK), CRWI on women and the media (Greece).

For information, please contact: Cristina Andreatta at Migrants’ Rights Networkc.andreatta@migrantsrights.org.uk

6th Annual Forced Migration Student Conference Call for Papers Call for Papers. “Refugees: Lives Pushed to the Margins?”

The 6th Annual Forced Migration Student Conference organised by postgraduates and hosted by the Refugee Research Centre at the University of East London on Saturday the 25^th and Sunday the 26^th of April.

Living a life in the margins or a marginalised life is a recurrent trope in the field of forced migration studies. Throughout the whole refugee experience from persecution and flight to settlement and integration, refugees find themselves pushed to the margins and often excluded. The marginalisation of various categories of forced migrants brings into question the effectiveness of protection regimes. Livelihood strategies of forced migrants are formulated at the very margins of society, some of whom are compelled to do so ‘outside’ the law. How do refugees negotiate identities that help them to combat social exclusion? Adopting a reflexive gaze, as researchers and aspiring academics we must ask ourselves how considerable and pertinent are the dialogues of practitioners and academics? Is academia to be confined to the sidelines or can it be more engaged with forced migrants? In which ways can the study of forced migration be related to wider global issues?

The conference invites papers that fit within the broad theme of the conference and forced migration more generally. We solicit papers that converge on the following sub-themes of the conference:

1)    Conversations and interdisciplinary dialogues (scholarly, policy, practitioners, NGOs)

2)    Sites of liminality and change (state; regional; local, trans-national; familial; individual)

3)    Conversations in issue-areas (development; human rights; migration; security; post-conflict)

4)    Sites of experience (gender; flight; re-settlement; camps; exclusion)

Postgraduate students (Masters/MPhil/PhD) are invited to submit abstracts for papers (no more than 250 words) and a personal profile (no more than 100 words). They should be sent, with full contact details, by 4pm on 26th January 2009 to: fmconference2009@googlemail.com

Posted in:  Refugee Studies and Conferences & Events.