Routes and roots: Perspectives on migration and belonging
- Date
- February 01, 2024 - February 02, 2024
- Time
- All Day
- Location
- In person, New York University Abu Dhabi, by invitation only
This workshop is co-organized by the Arab Crossroad Studies Program at New York University Abu Dhabi (external link) and CERC Migration, and convened by Laure Assaf, Assistant Professor, New York University Abu Dhabi, CERC Migration Chair Anna Triandafyllidou and CERC Migration Senior Research Associate Amin Moghadam.
Globalization has led to a transformation in the nature of mobility. With the rise of new middle classes aspiring to globally mobile careers, the emergence of new migration hubs competing to attract skilled migrants, and the multiplication of crises propelling constrained movements – from pandemics and environmental catastrophes to armed conflicts – an ever-diversifying class of people is leading transnational lives across different continents. These mobilities are increasingly complex, characterized by nonlinear trajectories that involve returns and onward movements. As migrants delve into new cultures and establish roots, they simultaneously maintain profound transnational relations. This fosters the development of plural identities, spanning multiple spheres of belonging.
The Gulf, home to some of the world's most diverse urban centers, is poised at the vanguard of global changes in mobility and belonging. Bringing together scholars from both institutions, this workshop will offer a platform for collective reflection on the metamorphosis of mobilities, belonging, and the ensuing challenges for the Gulf region and beyond.
Key questions to be explored include:
- What conceptual tools will make sense of complex migration pathways?
- What is the role of cities in shaping complex migration flows?
- How will emerging migration hubs impact global symbolic hierarchies?
- What are the pluralities migrants face in super-diverse urban settings?
- How do creative inspirations derive from complex migration patterns?
Co-convened by:
Program
| Feb. 1, 2024 | |
| 2 PM GST | Research Seminar Talk Routes and Roots: Space, time and agency in complex migration | Anna Triandafyllidou, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration, Toronto Metropolitan University Our understanding of international migration needs to be closely embedded in processes of broader socio economic, political and technological transformation. Mobility today is both physical and digital through advanced digital technologies. The routes of migration combine living and working at the same or different places, moving to work but also working transnationally without moving. Similarly, roots are also affected by advanced digital technologies: participation cuts across territorial borders, and technologies offer real-time connectivity and mobilization opportunities. At the same time, our work remains organized in national states that define political borders and migration categories. This lecture discusses how our migration routes and roots are shaped in this fast evolving social and technological context and offers some new ideas on how to (re-)conceptualize time, space and migrant agency in the mid-21st century. |
| 4 PM GST | Being borrowed: On Egyptian migration to the Gulf | NYUAD Project Space Visit of the exhibition curated by Laure Assaf, Farah Hallaba, and Farida Youssef |
| Feb. 2, 2024 | |
| 10 AM GST | Panel 1 – Mobilities and Complex Trajectories (PDF file) Are we post-west yet? The appeal of the United Arab Emirates as an alternative to western destinations for high-skilled migrants from the Global South | Anju Paul, Professor of Social Research and Public Policy, NYUAD & Mustafa Yavaş, Adjunct Lecturer of Social Research and Public Policy, NYUAD (PDF file) Pandemic returns: Complex trajectories of Nepali migrant workers aspirations and capabilities | Richa Shivakoti, Research Area Lead, Migration Governance, CERC Migration, Toronto Metropolitan University (PDF file) Creative mobility hubs and the decentering of the global art world: A study of the fire station artist-in-residence program in Doha | Jérémie Molho, Senior Research Associate, CERC Migration, Toronto Metropolitan University Low-wage migrant segregation in the global city | Kurt Kuehne, Postdoctoral Associate, NYUAD |
| 12 PM GST | Lunch break |
| 1 PM GST | Panel 2 – Cities, Complex Migration and Plural Belongings (PDF file) Writing to belong: Stories from Iranian migrants and artists in Dubai | Amin Moghadam, Research Area Lead, Cities and Migration, CERC Migration, Toronto Metropolitan University (PDF file) Rethinking integration: On urban space, migration and belonging in Abu Dhabi | Laure Assaf, Assistant Professor of Arab Crossroads Studies, Anthropology and Social Research and Public Policy, NYUAD (PDF file) If strife increases, go to Yemen: Yemeni refugees and the problem of return | Nathalie Peutz, Associate Professor of Arab Crossroads Studies and Anthropology (PDF file) When trust fails: Interactions between Chinese and Nigerians | Onoso Imoagene, Associate Professor of Social Research and Public Policy |
| 3 PM GST | Roundtable Discussion Envisioning the Future of Mobility and Belonging – perspectives from Canada and the UAE |