Call for papers

Call for Papers

4th CERPE Workshop – 2021

 “Chinese Migrations in Europe: Between Continuity and Renewal”

The 4th CERPE workshop is hosted by the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and co-funded by the Paris City Hall and the French Collaborative Institute on Migration, at the CNRS Campus, Villejuif, Île-de-France, November 18-19, 2021.

Objective of the 4th CERPE workshop

China’s rapid economic transformation over the past few decades into a dynamic global power has significantly altered migration flows from China to Europe. Up until the start of the Covid-19 pandemic when migration flows effectively paused, what were once characterized by low-skilled Chinese migrants seeking economic opportunities now include Chinese businessmen and women, entrepreneurs, students and tourists. These new migration flows have already notably transformed European economies, urban spaces and labour markets, and the increasing number of Chinese migrants across Europe – particularly in metropolitan areas such as Athens, Beograd, Budapest, London, Madrid, Paris and Rome – reflects how the continent is becoming a crucial hub of these new dynamics in global mobility.

Additionally, it will not have escaped anyone's notice that the Covid-19 pandemic has had an impact on the orientation of recent work in migration studies. It is certainly too early to draw conclusions on the implications of the crisis on Chinese migrations in Europe, but it has already affected many current research projects. The pandemic is opening up new avenues of research in the field of migration studies as well as more generally in the study of transnational circulation of populations, goods and ideas. In many European countries, the Covid-19 pandemic has also exacerbated pre-existing anti-Asian racism and hostility towards both China and overseas Chinese.

Although Chinese migration waves are a more recent phenomenon than other migration waves in Europe, they have recently gained prominence. There are now different generations within the social group of "Chinese people in Europe'' and their descendants play a central and active role in bringing Chinese communities to the forefront of society in European host countries. This has led not only to the emergence of creative projects by writers and artists of Chinese descent, including autobiographical fiction and film productions, but also to a raised awareness of the racism and discrimination that affects Asians in Europe and has been aggravated by Covid-19. Initiatives targeting and exposing this racism have increased, both online - in the form of social networks, blogs, and Internet chat groups - and offline.

In parallel with these phenomena, the material, emotional and symbolic links that Chinese diasporas maintain with China - their country of origin or that of their ancestors - are profoundly reconfiguring. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, increased globalization allowed for new mobility opportunities in  China and new migratory routes, due not only to renewed entrepreneurship models between China and Europe, but also to an idea of China that has transformed over the last few decades. As the Covid-19 crisis has halted physical movement between Europe and China, Chinese people in Europe have maintained links in other ways with China, largely through social media and digital technology and, notably, transnational solidarity acts (care circuit, medical equipment collection and sending, etc.). The relationship between the individual and the Chinese state has been significantly altered.

The fragmentation of European research on Chinese migration and mobility has made it difficult to connect this field to general migration studies related to Europe or the rest of the world. Limited dialogue between migration researchers in Europe – or beyond to the United States and Asia – has precluded comparative studies and the inclusion of Chinese and European cases in general migration studies. This lack of unification in academia turns "Chinese migrations to Europe" into an exceptional case and hinders the more general development of migration theories and concepts related to Chinese migration.

In the new contexts of Chinese migrations in Europe and of migration flows between Europe and China since the Covid-19 pandemic, the 4th CERPE workshop aims firstly to increase our knowledge of Chinese migrations in Europe between continuity and renewal. Secondly, this workshop aims to ground our understanding of new mobilities between China and Europe in mainstream migration studies. In order to foster exchanges and dialogues between Chinese migration studies and general migration studies, migration researchers external to the CERPE network are invited to join the workshop as panelists.

Papers based on single country studies or on comparative issues related to Chinese migrations in or across European countries are both highly welcomed.

Paper proposals may deal with one or several of the following themes, but are not limited to:

-       China’s diaspora policies, and migratory policies in European host countries

-       Transnational economic, cultural and political activities and associations

-       Identification, representation, discrimination and citizenship

-       Family, descendants, socialization and intergenerational relationships

-       Care, health, ageing, food

-       Elite and skilled migrations, and new migratory dynamics between China and Europe

The organizing committee also welcomes analyses of the many ways in which the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted Chinese migration in Europe.  These analyses can take the form of either a stand-alone paper or be integrated into one of the topics listed above. Depending on the number and scope of proposals received, the organizing committee may consider designing a panel specifically dedicated to the Covid-19 pandemic and its effects on Chinese migration and mobility.   

Workshop format

The workshop will be organized as a research-intensive event with several thematic sessions and one migration data session.

Each thematic session will consist of three elements:

1)    Short paper presentations (15 minutes for each)

2)    Discussion of all papers by one migration researcher external to the CERPE network (15 minutes)

3)    Plenum discussions (15 minutes)

A migration data session will also be part of the workshop as a new feature of CERPE workshops focusing on collating and discussing demographic data from across Europe and China on Chinese migration to Europe. All workshop participants will be expected to contribute national data to a future open access database with available and comparable Chinese migration data. The data session at this workshop will collate the most basic data on the number of Chinese nationals, naturalized Chinese and Chinese descendants in Europe.

Paper presenters will be selected based on quality and relevance to the overall topic.

Travel and accommodation expenses are not covered by the organizing institutions. Coffee/tea and lunch are offered free of charge, as well as the closing cocktail on November 19, 2021. There is no registration fee. 

Venue

The workshop will be held at the CNRS Campus, 7 rue Guy Môquet, Villejuif, Île-de-France.

Submission of paper proposal and important deadlines 

The 4th CERPE workshop invites interested scholars to submit a paper proposal by March 31,  2021 online:https://4th-cerpe-paris.sciencesconf.org/. Proposals should include a maximum 500-word abstract, a 150-word personal bio and a publication list of no more than two pages including contact information (email, mobile number, WeChat). Panel proposals are not accepted.

Abstract, personal bio and a publication list should be uploaded online as a single file in Microsoft Word (**.doc or **.docx) format.

Please title the file with your name followed by “paper proposal”.

Accepted language: English.

The pandemic has impacted not only the timing of this conference but also the subject. In the Covid-19 pandemic context, some of you may have reoriented your work or at least taken Covid-19 into account in your research. For papers that were accepted in spring 2020, researchers should not feel obligated to update their proposals, but please note that proposals for papers that we received last year may no longer be relevant in this new context. If this is the case, we encourage you to revise your proposal. All proposals must be resubmitted online, regardless of whether they were accepted in spring 2020 and whether they have been adapted. All proposals received will be reviewed for a new selection.

The confirmation of participation will be sent by May 15, 2021.

Invitation letters for participants who need a visa will be sent by June 15, 2021.

Participants should submit their full papers by October 1, 2021 to allow time for panellists to prepare.

Presentation of the CERPE and previous meetings:

The China-Europe Research Platform (http://projects.au.dk/cerpe/) was initiated by Jinan University (China) and Aarhus University (Denmark) and later joined by several institutions in Spain, France and Germany to promote academic studies on Chinese migration to and beyond Europe from the perspective of both China and Europe. The first workshop was held in Aarhus in May 2016, the second one in Guangzhou in November 2017, and the third one in Barcelona in November 2018. Due to Covid-19 pandemic, the fourth workshop initially planned in Paris in November 2020 has been postponed to November 2021. 

Participating institutions

CERPE: China-Europe Research Platform on Chinese Migration to and beyond Europe

ICM: The French Collaborative Institute on Migration

CNRS: The French National Center for Scientific Research

Paris City Hall: Granted research program Emergence(s) "The Chinese Population in Paris: Identities and Identifications under Transformation"

CERMES3: Centre for Research in Medicine, Science, Health, Mental Health, and Society

MAF: Research Network on Migration from East and Southeast Asia in France

EHESS: The School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences

ENS de Paris: Ecole Normale Supérieure de Paris

INSERM: The French National Institute of Health and Medical Research

University of Paris

MITRA: Erasmus Mundus Joint Master's Degree in Transnational Migrations

Updated information on the workshop program, participants and logistic notifications will be available on the workshop webpage (https://4th-cerpe-paris.sciencesconf.org/).

A collective publication project in English is planned after the 4th CERPE workshop.

For additional general information about the workshop, please contact:

4th.cerpe.paris@gmail.com