Monday 17 August 2015

CFP: Migration and intergenerational relations in Southeast Asia

Migration and intergenerational relations in Southeast Asia panel
Southeast Asian Studies Symposium 2016
University of Oxford, 14-16 April 2016

Chair: Pia M Jolliffe (University of Oxford)

Southeast Asia is very diverse. The eleven Southeast Asian countries vary in historical, socio- cultural and political economic experiences. Yet, in spite of this diversity the region faces shared demographic challenges related to migration and intergenerational relations, in particular changing patterns of traditional family life, marriage and childbearing, ageing populations and migration for education and work.

Already in pre-modern Southeast Asia migration shaped demographic landscapes within and between the realms of kings, landlords, sultans and other local political authorities. Movements of persons were structured according to household and market demands. Children and youth, especially boys, migrated for education between their family homes and locations of learning such as Buddhist temples and Muslim mosques. Also marriage was a frequent reason for men and women to migrate out of their parternal home into the household of their in-laws. Of course, marriage always has socio-cultural and political-economic meanings as it establishes relations between households, village communities or even larger political entities. Trade and commerce, too, asked individuals to migrate between different areas in mainland and insular Southeast Asia. Pre-modern Southeast Asia was a also a destination for migrants from Europe, such as mercants, mercenaries and Christian missionaries from Portugal or Italy. These movements, too, impacted on the intergenerational relations between those who travelled and those who remained behind. Colonialism and the formation of modern centralized states strongly impacted on the political economy of Southeast Asia and the region ́s interdependence with global markets and other modern institutions such as the World Bank, the United Nations etc. In this context, modern notions of citizenship, national security and border control create new inequalities between and among peoples in different areas of Southeast Asia. These developments have implications for intergenerational relations.

This panel aims at bringing together scholars from different disciplinary backgrounds 1. to explore the historical and contemporary dynamics that shape migration in Southeast Asia and 2. to relate these socio-cultural and political-economic processes to intergenerational relations. In this way, panel participants will illuminate how different patterns of migration shape intergenerational relations at different times and places in history on local, regional and international levels. Panel participants are encouraged to publish their papers, for example as chapters in a contributed volume edited by the Chair.

Please submit an abstract of ca. 250 words by 12 September 2015 to pia.vogler@bfriars.ox.ac.uk