11-12/10/2021: Remittance Studies: Making and Mapping a Field

JUSTREMIT and the Institute of Security and Global Affairs at Leiden University invite paper and panel proposals for consideration for the first JUSTREMIT Conference “Remittance Studies: making and mapping a field.”

Today, scholars study remittances through the prisms of old and stale theoretical frameworks and disciplinary practices. These theories and frameworks were not created to study remittances, but they are all we have. When studying remittances and development today, we use the framework of development forged in the 20th century. When we think about remittances and justice, we are pulled into tired debates that lend little clarity and much confusion. When we inquire into remittances and health, wealth, and wellbeing we often find ourselves fitting remittances into pre-given boxes. We know the answers before asking the questions and the evident puzzles and paradoxes that abound are passed over.

This conference will discuss ongoing research in remittances (broadly understood) and try to start a conversation on what Remittance Studies could and should be. What would remittances-first concepts and theories look like? What are the ethics of studying remittances? What are the politics of remittances? What are the technological and regulatory foundations of remittances? What debates should be abandoned altogether? Which questions need to be asked? What should be the role of states, international institutions, policy makers, service providers, academics, and remitters themselves in shaping the world of remittances?

Papers on a range of topics. JUSTREMIT has embedded interests in Senegal, global justice, ethnographic methods, the governance of remittances/remitters, the geopolitics of remittances, and the ethics of remittances. However, they are open and eager to invite papers/panels on other topics (regulatory, legal, practical, technological, etc), methods (especially new, exploratory, or experimental methods), regions, and concepts/theories.

Schedule

The organisers hope to keep the conference small, to one day, and without parallel panels so that participants can participate in the whole event. If there is a groundswell of interest, they will run concurrent sessions and perhaps a second day. The only fixed moment on the agenda is that there will be a final concluding roundtable for all participants which will address the question: “What should Remittances Studies be?”

Paper Proposals

The organisers invite academics of any level (including ABDs), representatives from international organisations, service providers, and representatives of civil society organisations to participate. Please send a short abstract (300 words) of your presentation topic to justremit@fgga.leidenuniv.nl by August 21st, 2021.

Panel Proposals:

The organisers invite panel proposals. Please send a short description of your panel idea along with a preliminary list of three (or so) presenters who have committed to present. Please bear in mind that this is a small conference organized on zero-budget and good will. If you propose a panel, we would appreciate that you take the lead in getting it organised (e.g., discussants, chairs, Zoom, etc). Please send panel proposals to justremit@fgga.leidenuniv.nl by August 21st, 2021.

Papers will be grouped into panels (the number of which will depend on the number of applications and organisational feasibility).

The deadline for paper and panel proposals is August 21st, 2021

Updates will be posted here.
We can be reached here: justremit@fgga.leidenuniv.nl or j.m.hoye@fgga.leidenuniv.nl