February 24, 2020
This year's conference features International Institute experts in conversation with migration scholars from around the world. This conference hopes to shed light on myriad aspects of migration across the world and from differing perspectives.
Topics to be covered include migration of ideas and languages, causes and effects of migration, the socio-political implications of human movement, culture production and transferral, and countering common narratives about migration, among others.
Featuring local and international scholars with expertise on the regions of East Africa, North Africa, East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, the Caribbean, and North America, this cross-regional and interdisciplinary discussion will be of interest to faculty, students, and members of the general public engaged with issues of migration, immigration, human interaction, culture, language and politics.
This conference is funded in part by five (5) Title VI National Resource Center grants from the U.S. Department of Education
8:30-9:00 am » Breakfast
9:00-9:20 am » Welcome and Opening Remarks by Pauline Jones, University of Michigan
9:30 am-10:45 am » Panel 1: Causes and Effects
Cheryl Yin, University of Michigan. “Deporting the Unsettled: From Cambodian Refugee Resettlement to Exiled Cambodian-American”
Sally Howell, University of Michigan, Dearborn. “On Layers and Landings: A Longue Duree Look at Middle Eastern Migration to Detroit”
Vahe Sahakyan, University of Michigan, Dearborn. “Beyond Assimilation: From Migrant Liminality to Diasporic Permanence”
Discussant: Katherine Downs, University of Michigan
11:00 am-12:45pm » Panel 2: Countering Narratives
Mark Overmyer-Velázquez, University of Connecticut. “Global Latin(X) Americanos: Charting New Ontological and Epistemological Cartographies beyond U.S. LatinX Studies”
Nicole Constable, University of Pittsburgh. “Migrant Mothers, Rejected Refugees and Excluded-Belonging in Hong Kong”
Jatin Dua, University of Michigan. “Encounters at Sea: Migration and mobility in the Indian Ocean”
Discussant: Brandon Finn, Harvard University
12:45-2:00 pm » Lunch break
2:00-4:00 pm » Panel 3: Societal Implications
Alyssa Park, University of Iowa. “Reimagining Korean Migrants: Border Crossings at the Edge of Russia and Asia in the 19th Century”
Jaeeun Kim, University of Michigan. “Redemption: Asylum-Seeking on Religious Grounds in the Era of Involuntary Immobility”
Francis Bwambale, Makerere University. “Migration and HIV: Overview of the trends, data challenges and opportunities for Sub-Saharan Africa”
Volha Chykina, Pennsylvania State University. “Pro-Integration Policies and the Occupational Expectations of Immigrant Youth in Europe”
Discussant: Nicholas Kolenda, University of Michigan
4:00-4:30 pm » Coffee Break
4:30-5:45 pm » Panel 4: Cultural Migration
Aliyah Khan, University of Michigan. “Transatlantic Sufism in Afro-Caribbean Islam”
Karen Jallatyan, University of Michigan. “Singularities of Diasporic Becoming Through and Beyond Armenities”
Khaled Mattawa, University of Michigan. ”Mare Nostrum: A Poetry Recitation”
Discussant: Rima Hassouneh, University of Michigan
5:50pm - 6:00pm » Closing Remarks by Rima Hassouneh, University of Michigan
6:00-7:00 pm » Reception
Cosponsors: International Institute, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Comparative Literature, Department for Afroamerican and African Studies, Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies, Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies, Nam Center for Korean Studies, Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies, Armenian Studies Program, Global Islamic Studies Center, African Studies Center, Center for South Asian Studies, Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Department of Anthropology, Department of Sociology.
