Non-Han Chinese diasporic communities

Call for Papers

Non-Han Chinese diasporic communities beyond China

Date: 4-5 April 2014
Venue: The Australian National University, Canberra.

Organised and sponsored by the College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, and Center for International Migration Studies, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.

Conference Description

The organisers of this conference invite applications to present papers which explore a rarely examined aspect of the Chinese diaspora – the non-Han Chinese living and working outside China. The conference will address the identity, migration history and contemporary status of these people and communities, as well as implications of their situations both for China (the state and their original communities) and for the countries in which they have settled. Non-Han Chinese in the Chinese diaspora number in the millions but these migrants have received virtually no scholarly attention. This conference will thus enrich our understanding of Chinese diasporas and will fundamentally challenge the common view that ‘Chinese diaspora’ is to be understood solely in terms of interaction between (Han) Chinese and non-Chinese cultures.

Two major groups will be focused on during the conference: First, the northern and western ‘ethnic minorities,’ including the Mongols, Manchu, Tibetans, Koreans and Uighur who have generally migrated beyond China in recent decades. Second, the diasporas from the mountainous southwestern regions of China, with groups like the Hmong, Zhuang, Yao, Tai and Akha, who interact with brethren in Southeast Asia and have long migration histories. These two categories problematize the image of a single, discrete and patriotic diasporic Chineseness and also pose challenges to the countries in which these people have settled.

Their stories have yet to be told.

Call for papers

Paper proposals including a 300-word abstract and a one-page CV of the proposer should be submitted to [email protected] by 30 November 2013. Those selected to participate will be advised within three weeks of this date and will be required to submit completed papers by March 2014.

Accommodation will be provided in Canberra for all invited speakers and some travel funding may be available. It is anticipated that the conference will lead to a path-breaking volume in this under-explored field.

Queries may be directed to:

Li Tana ([email protected]), Centre for the Study of the Chinese Southern Diaspora, School of Culture, History and Language, ANU College of the Asia and Pacific Studies.

Nicholas Farrelly ([email protected] ), School of International, Political and Strategic Studies, ANU College of Asia & the Pacific.

Zhang Zhenjiang ([email protected]), Center for Transnational Migration Studies, Academy of Overseas Chinese Studies, Jinan University.

or

Geoff Wade ([email protected]), Conference Secretary