CfP: Post-Soviet* Diaspora(s) in Western Europe, 1991-2017

 

14/16 December 2017

 

IGOT - Universidade de Lisboa and Espaço-Memória dos Exílios, Estoril (Portugal),

 

Organization: Instituto de Geografia e Ordenamento do Território - Universidade de Lisboa (IGOT-UL), with the generous support of Fundação Dom Luís (Cascais)

 

Convenors: Elena Bulakh – elenabulakh@campus.ul.pt - and António Eduardo Mendonça – antonioeduardo@campus.ul.pt (IGOT - UL)

 

 

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, millions of former soviet citizens crossed the national borders in search of better lives in new countries, in what was the biggest migration tide since the end of World War II.

 

These Post-Soviet migrants were diverse in origins, strategies and expectations. They often represented a challenge to the orthodox views of migration processes, since in most cases these flows could not be easily described and analysed following commonly accepted theoretical frameworks. Everybody seemed to be on the move: labour migrants, political refugees, cross-border traders, “tourists” planning to forget their return, ... and in a short period, they spread all over Western Europe.

 

Twenty-five years later, who and where are these migrants? In this workshop, we would like to explore the different dimensions of their lives, their connections with the past, their involvement in the present and their expectations for the future. We invite the speakers to provide an in-depth and focused view of the lives and experiences of Post-Soviet migrants, considering (but not limited to) the following issues:

 

- How do Post-Soviet migrants perceive and identify themselves? What is their connection with the Soviet past - is nostalgia still a shared experience, or just a fading memory? Is long-distance nationalism present in their lives? What about pendular mobilities? Do social differences between these migrants draw lines more relevant than national divisions? Who are the "friends and foes" of the various communities? What are the relationships between the modern independent states and their diasporic communities? Can we already speak of post-soviet e-Diasporas? Regarding the second generations – how do they perceive and evaluate their family history?

 

We hope the debates of our workshop will actually help to frame a better perception of the post-soviet Diasporas, and will add to the general knowledge on East-West migrations in our continent.

 

* We are aware of the issues raised by the concept of «Post-Soviet»; here, we understand it in its geographical and historical dimensions – referring to the territory of the former Soviet Union and to the historical period beginning in 1991.

 

We invite contributions from anthropologists, sociologists, geographers, historians, demographers and others on these issues; we welcome papers both from senior researchers and from scholars who are completing their dissertation or have just received their PhD. There is a limited number of places.

 

The working language is English; there will be a session in Portuguese.

 

Abstracts of up to 300 words and a short bio (50 words) should be sent to elenabulakh@campus.ul.pt AND antonioeduardo@campus.ul.pt by 15 October 2017. Decisions will be made by 20 October. We expect all speakers to submit their revised papers for publication in an edited collection or special journal issue(s) by 31 May 2018.

 

Speakers will be offered accommodation by the organization in Estoril (two nights, double room). Unfortunately, we are not able to provide any support with travel expenses.

Contact Email: antonioeduardo@campus.ul.pt