A place called ‘Bielany’: negotiating a diasporic Polish place in Sydney

This paper examines the creation of a distinctly Polish place by Polish migrants and their children, in Sydney, Australia. I explore the use of place as a means of maintaining distinct ethno-cultural identity in diaspora by evaluating how different groups of Polish people contextualise their diasporic identity, attribute meaning to place, and how these meanings change through time. Differing generational cohorts and waves of migration within Sydney's Polish diaspora (re)create Bielany as a place for maintaining Polish identity by reproducing a familiar and homely place and by centring Bielany as a main venue for recreation and social functions. Notions of place attachment, expressed through participation in activities, ownership and maintenance of a communal Polish place, and emotional linkages to that place, evince their preference for and their connection to a shared and distinctly Polish place.     

Entangled Memories: How to Study Europe’s Cultural Heritage

A fruitful direction for research on the European cultural heritage is to adopt a transnational approach. Rather than see cultural heritage as predominantly expressed in national contexts, it could be seen as primarily transnational and as plural. Such a view would also suggest a conception of national histories as themselves products of transnational encounters. In this perspective, the European dimension is not then necessarily something over and above nations, but part of their heritage. Moreover, as fundamentally transnational, the European heritage is not exclusively confined to Europe. Cultural heritage is not something that is fixed or based on an essence; it is produced and reinterpreted by social actors in different but overlapping contexts. This is also an interpretative approach that draws attention to the entangled nature of memories and especially the cultural logic by which new conceptions and narratives of heritage emerge from the encounter and entanglement of different memories. Such an approach offers new opportunities for comparative research on the European heritage as an entangled mosaic of histories and memories. This approach thus rejects not only particularistic but also universalistic ones such as alternative Eurocentric accounts.     

国际移民趋势、学术前沿动向与华侨华人研究

探讨了当前国际移民的新趋势和国际社会对移民问题态度的变化以及国际学术前沿值得注意的新动向。国际移民在总体规模、流向、流量和存量上都有新的重大变化。各国政府与国际组织对移民问题日益重视。研究的视角从移民输入国逐渐转向移民输出国;研究的内容从国际移民的消极面转向积极面。对国内的华侨华人研究提出两点建议:加强跨国主义移民理论的研究;重视翻译出版留学人员优秀著述的工作。     

Cosmopolitan nationalism and the cultural reach of the white British

ABSTRACT. In recent years, strong claims have been made for the breakdown of national boundaries and the reformation of national identities in an increasingly interconnected global world – driven in large part by the possibilities and limitations that emerge from an increasingly global media world. It has been argued that new postnational, cosmopolitan subjectivities accompany, enable and feed off globally oriented forms of cultural consumption. This article examines these claims in the light of unusually comprehensive data on the tastes of the white British population collected in a large national sample survey, in‐depth interviews and focus groups. By identifying and analysing the geographical spread of the cultural referents of the tastes of the white British we make an empirical assessment of the claims for cosmopolitan identities. We argue that if white British identities are being reformed by processes of globalisation it is, paradoxically, in an increasingly Anglophone direction.     

A changing sense of Somaliness: Somali women in London and Toronto

This article considers how direct and indirect transnational linkages influence Somali refugee women settling in London, England and Toronto, Canada, and lead to shifts in identity in resettlement contexts. Drawing on interviews with Somali refugee women and discussions with resettlement staff, this article shows that under influences of distant and local linkages with other Somalis and through the cultural and social influences of the receiving society, Somali women develop a changing sense of their own Somaliness. The article argues that indicators of belonging, such as dress, religion and language, come to hold new and increased value within the new context, and familiar facets of national, cultural and religious identity shift in significance in response to competing influences and are used as intentional signifiers of identity.     

Rural–urban divide and identity conflicts of migrant Muslim students in Northwest China

Abstract

A huge flow of internal migrants in China is an indicator of the significant changes in the geographical and cultural patterns brought by China’s recent economic growth. The Hui (10.6 million), as one of the largest ethnic minority groups in China, and the Dongxiang, with almost 100% of them holding the Islamic belief, are migrating from rural areas to urban centers in Northwest China. Analyzing the qualitative data from narrative stories, thematic photos, group discussions, semi-structured interviews, and field observations, this study interprets the cultural experience of rural Muslim migrant students in Chinese public schools and examines their complex and fluid rural–urban identities. This study further discusses the possibilities of including and integrating rural migrant students in cities.     

‘I am going,with or without you’: autonomy in Bolivian transnational migrations

Autonomy has often been seen as a precondition for achieving gender equality, yet feminist scholarship has been rather ambivalent towards it. In this article, I explore this ambivalence by drawing on the experiences of migrant women, particularly mothers, focusing on the ways in which they negotiated their mobility with their partners. By analysing women's experiences of migration within a context of multi-sited and longitudinal, itinerant ethnography, I historicise their life accounts and place them within a broader framework of social and economic structural changes. On this basis I explore the concept of autonomy, particularly in relation to the exercise of women's agency within a context of market-oriented neoliberal reforms. I also question the potential of women's autonomy for gender equality and argue that there are at least two reasons for feminist scholars to continue being ambivalent towards autonomy.     

THE NEW INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION IN ASIA

International migration has a long history in Asia but in recent years it has acquired an unprecedented scale and diversity and is a significant influence on the economic, social and demographic development of all Asian nations. International migration is now an established structural feature of the region although many nations still dismiss it as a temporary, passing phenomenon. Asian nations are developing international migration policies but much of this has not been informed by high quality research relating to the causes and effects of migration. The present paper examines each of the major types of international migration influencing contemporary Asia, reviews major developments within them and puts forward relevant policy and research challenges associated with each type of movement. Issues examined include south–north migration, migration and development, the role of diaspora, international labour migration, the feminization of migration, student migration and the increasing role of governments in influencing movement.     

From pioneer migration to family reunification: Polish women’s narratives of lifestyle preferences in Bologna,Italy

In the article I analyse the emergence of lifestyle considerations among former labour migrants and the importance of these new preferences for their choice to settle in the new location. The paper critically engages with the theoretical framework of ‘lifestyle migration’ and discusses its applicability to labour migrants from Central-Eastern Europe settling in Mediterranean countries. I present the interplay between economic and lifestyle reasoning based on two narrative biographical interviews with migrants in Bologna, drawing on my comparative qualitative research in Italy and the UK. The pioneer female migrants went to Italy as care workers in order to fulfill their households’ immediate economic needs. During the years of circular migration the women developed ties to Italy, but found prolonged periods of separation from their families no longer acceptable. The female migrants opted to transfer their whole households to Bologna. Based on the women’s experience and preferences, the families’ consumption preferences and leisure activities transformed in the course of settlement in the Italian city. I claim that lifestyle is a fruitful concept in researching migrants’ changing aspirations, way of life in the new location and the reasons for staying. This approach allows to go beyond the typologies based on the initial motivations for migration.     

The ummah as nation: a reappraisal in the wake of the ‘Cartoons Affair’†

ABSTRACT. In the wake of the 2006 ‘Cartoons Affair’ which saw international protests by Muslims against the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad, it is clear that identity based on membership in the Islamic ummah goes far beyond simple religious affiliation. This essay presents a novel argument for treating the ummah (the transnational community of Muslim believers) as a nation. I begin with a theoretical treatment of the ummah as nation which employs historic and current interpretations of what constitutes nationhood. I then turn to the current state of the ummah; my findings present a potent nexus of information and communications technology (ICT), emergent elites, and Muslim migration to the West that has facilitated a hitherto impossible reification of the ummah. I also discuss how globalisation, Western media practices, and the nature of European society allow ‘ummahist’ elites to marginalise other voices in the transnational Muslim community. Based on the global events surrounding the Danish cartoons controversy of 2005–06, I conclude that there is need to recognise ummah‐based identity as more than just a profession of faith – it represents a new form of postnational, political identity which is as profound as any extant nationalism.     

国际移民认同问题：一种身份政治研究方法

论文从身份政治的研究视角,对移民认同问题进行了分析阐述。认为移民认同问题的研究包括三个主题：族群身份层面的文化认同主题、民族身份层面的国家认同主题和全球化时期多重身份层面的全球认同主题。国际移民身份政治研究在时间线索上依据从单一到多维的趋势发生和发展;新的自变量的介入导致研究模型随之发生变异,以保持对后来出现的经验实际事件的有效解释和预测;移民身份政治研究可以提供多领域研究之间的共同理解的基本框架,研究的问题和研究方法之间存在着内在联系。     

Uprisings,Migrations, and Ethnic Identity： A Study of the Kaxabu in the Taiwan Borderland during the Qing

The earliest written record of the term “Kaxabu” dates to the 1908 survey report by the Japanese scholar Ino Kanori. In his study of the Pazzehe tribe in central Taiwan, he wrote： “Kaxabu was the name given by the Pazzehe to Daiyao＇puru, a small division of its ethnic group.” During the Qing era, the Pazzehe was called the Anli group by Chinese speakers in Taiwan, while the Kaxabu were named Puzili she （the Puzili tribe）. Since the Kaxabu originated from the Pazzehe, thus in determining the time when the Kaxabu became distinct from the Pazzehe and in exploring the differences between them, we will also elucidate historical developments before the Japanese colonial era. Using Qing historical materials such as travelogues, expedition-records, newspapers, data from fieldwork, surveys, and interviews, this study traces the intervention of the Qing court into tribal relationships in central Taiwan, beginning with the Dajiaxi she Incident （1731-32）, it touches on the changing environment of the Kaxabu/ Puzili she in their migrations in order to shed light on the development of the two distinctive identities-the Kaxabu and Pazzehe/Anli group. The analysis also reveals the impact of uprisings and migrations upon the border area surrounding Qing Taiwan, as well as problems of ethnic identification and geography.     

The tyranny of transnational discourse: ‘authenticity’ and Irish diasporic identity in Ireland and England

Through the prism of current state discourses in Ireland on engagement with the Irish diaspora, this article examines the empirical merit of the related concepts of ‘diaspora’ and ‘transnationalism’. Drawing on recent research on how Irish identity is articulated and negotiated by Irish people in England, this study suggests a worked distinction between the concepts of ‘diaspora’ and ‘transnationalism’. Two separate discourses of authenticity are compared and contrasted: they rest on a conceptualisation of Irish identity as transnational and diasporic, respectively. I argue that knowledge of contemporary Ireland is constructed as sufficiently important that claims on diasporic Irishness are constrained by the discourse of authentic Irishness as transnational. I discuss how this affects the identity claims of second‐generation Irish people, the relationship between conceptualisations of Irishness as diasporic within Ireland and ‘lived’ diasporic Irish identities, and implications for state discourses of diaspora engagement.     

Gendered,spatial and temporal approaches to Polish intra-European migration

This themed section brings together five articles focusing on distinct urban sites: Berlin/Munich, Oslo/Bergen, Belfast, Bologna and Barcelona. While there has been extensive research on Polish migrants in cities such as London, this themed issue presents a unique opportunity to explore the experiences of Polish women and men across a range of different cities. In so doing, these articles address key questions concerning implications of the specific structures and opportunities of localities where Polish migrants settle for their gendered everyday life experiences. In providing a short introduction to the themed sections, we begin by introducing some of these questions and consider the ways in which the section can contribute to on-going debates about how migrants experience and navigate place in gendered ways. We argue that gender relations and dynamics are significant to processes of migrant adaptation within particular cities. The ways in which migrants navigate their new locations are shaped not only by institutional structures but also by gendered, classed and racialised power dynamics enacted in and through those spaces. By examining the experiences of Polish migrants across various city spaces in different national contexts, we consider how migrants may adopt particular strategies to negotiate these specific ‘spaces of encounter’.