International Seminar on
Migration in the past: patterns, causes, consequences, and implications
Online, 28 October 2022
Organized by the IUSSP Scientific Panel on Historical Demography, in collaboration with the Center for Social Research, Guanghua School of Management, Peking University.
Organizing Committee: Hao Dong (Peking University), Lionel Kesztenbaum (Institut National d'Études Démographiques), Martin Dribe (Lund University).
CALL FOR PAPERS
Deadline for submission of abstracts: 17 July 2022
Download Call for Papers in PDF 
Migration and integration have become one of the most important social, economic, and political issues in today’s world. In the presence of global challenges like below-replacement fertility, aging populations, rising inequality, and local resistance to globalization, as well as the current travel restrictions caused by the pandemic, migration probably draws more attention than ever before from the public. Similarly in the past, there have been periods of significant international migration flows, for example the great transatlantic migration or the Chinese migration into South-east Asia. There have also been waves of massive internal migration, shaping the history and development of many societies. A comprehensive understanding of the historical roots and patterns of migration not only contributes to the scholarship about the past, but also could shed light on the complicated issues of contemporary migration.
By organizing the seminar, we propose to foster communication between new studies on migration in the past, with an eye on the implications for the present. It also serves as a first step to encourage a future interdisciplinary collaborative research agenda that bridges historical demography, economic history, and other fields and disciplines for improving our knowledge about human migration. We believe this agenda has more potential to be successful now than previously, thanks to the rapid increase of census and administrative microdata of historical and contemporary populations worldwide, as well as recent advances in statistical and computational social science methodologies.
Our aim is to collect recent research on historical migration flows, focusing both on migrant selection and integration of immigrants in host societies. We expect to take stock of the recent development of new data sources and the opportunities for new scientific contributions they offer. As an example, new linking methods and increased availability of census and administrative micro data offer completely new possibilities of studying migration and integration in historical contexts from a longitudinal, comparative perspective.
We invite quantitative studies that either take advantage of new data and methods to contribute new knowledge of patterns, causes, and consequences of historical migration, or examine the long-run legacy of historical migration to contemporary society. Studies on micro-level processes, macro-level processes, and their interactions are also welcome.
Submissions:
The IUSSP Scientific Panel on Historical Demography invites researchers to submit by 17 July 2022 a short 200-word abstract AND an extended abstract (2 to 4 pages, including tables). Please email the abstract to Hao Dong (dongh@pku.edu.cn), and include “IUSSP Historical Demography Seminar 2022” in the email title. Abstracts and papers must be submitted in English, which will be the working language of the meeting.
Currently, we plan to hold the seminar online. The seminar will be limited to about 20 contributed papers. Submissions should be made by the author who will attend the seminar. If the paper is co-authored, please include the names of your co-authors in your submission (in the appropriate order).
Applicants will be informed whether paper is accepted by 31 July 2022. Participants must submit their complete paper by 1 October 2022.
For further information, Please contact seminar organizer Hao Dong.
IUSSP Scientific Panel on Historical Demography:
Chair: Martin Dribe (Lund University, Sweden)
Members: Lisa Dillon (Université de Montréal, Canada), Hao Dong (Peking University, China), J. David Hacker (University of Minnesota, USA), Lionel Kesztenbaum (Institut national d’études démographiques, INED, France), Ana Silvia Volpi Scott (Universidade Estadual de Campinas, UNICAMP, Brazil) and Sarah Walters (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK)
IUSSP Council Liaison: Géraldine Duthé (Institut national d'études démographiques, INED, France)