This LASP summer research grant provides funding for in-country research costs for graduate pre-dissertation work in Latin America or the Caribbean. (The grant does not cover international airfare; students should also apply for an Einaudi Center Travel Grant for airfare.) LASP will offer up to three research grants to qualified graduate students who need to conduct field research over the summer of 2021. Grant amounts may vary from $500 to $1,500. The graduate minor in Latin American (and Caribbean) studies allows students to acquire in-depth knowledge of the region, which will enhance their expertise for future research and professional advancement. The main requirement is to have a Latin American studies field faculty member as a member of a student’s committee.

Contact: lasp@cornell.edu, https://lasp.einaudi.cornell.edu/

Want to learn a language this summer? Learn about Foreign Language and Area Studies fellowships and Critical Language Scholarships, which provide fully funded opportunities for Cornell undergraduate and graduate students to study South and Southeast Asian languages in the summer, and even in the academic year.

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program provides full funding for graduate and professional students conducting research or teaching in any field in more than 150 countries. Open to U.S. citizens only.

The Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Program supports doctoral students conducting research in modern languages or area studies for six to 12 months. Open to U.S. citizens and permanent residents of the United States. Travel to Western European countries is not eligible.

Contact: fulbright@einaudi.cornell.edu, https://einaudi.cornell.edu/fulbright-us-student-program

International reproduction migration: the case of China

CCCI welcomes Biao Xiang, of Oxford/Max Planck Institute.

International reproduction migration means that people move for the purpose of maintaining and improving their social status and life quality, instead of earning higher incomes. Examples of reproduction migration include birth tourism, retirement migration, migration for education and care, and investor migration (many investor migrants purchase properties and settle families in the destinations but rarely make productive investments).

Reproduction migration from China has increased much faster than labor or settlement migrations since the 1990s. Those who have benefited from China’s development the most leave the rising center of the world economy. They do so to internationalize their reproduction arrangements, and to pursue capital conversation (e.g. from money to status) at the cost of capital accumulation.

The image for this event is a promotional still from the Chinese sit-com, 'Over the Sea, I Come to You,' or 带着爸爸去留学. The show deals with many trends including reproduction migration.

Eli Friedman, Chair, ILR School and Director of the CCCI for Spring '21 hosts and moderates. Professor Friedman teaches the course that is linked to this lecture series, ILRIC 4395, Empire of Migrants.

CCCI was established to create a forum for scholars, researchers, and students with contemporary China interests in any aspect of contemporary China. CCCI is a collaborative effort of the East Asia Program, CAPS, and Asian Studies.

'Hukou' and 'Suzhi' as Technologies of Governing Citizenship and Migration in China

CCCI welcomes Chenchen Zhang, Lecturer in the School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics at Queens University, Belfast

Abstract: This talk looks at the genealogy and contemporary configuration of two key concepts that are central to governing the “extent” and “content” of citizenship in China: hukou and suzhi. Whereas hukou, or the household registration system, functions as a formal meso-level citizenship that distributes rights and regulates internal migration, the concept of suzhi, loosely translated as quality, brings together various discourses about what a desirable citizen subject should look like. I conceptualize the two as technologies of citizenship, which are inherently interconnected to one another as the hukou policy that governs internal migration employs the language of suzhi to justify the regime of differentiated citizenship, rights and mobility. After presenting the historical evolvement of each concept in the Chinese political system, I will focus on the latest reforms of the household registration system and the role of suzhi in the discourse of hukou reforms, urban governance, and rural-to-urban migration. It is argued that the policy and discursive changes indicate a shift from the dualistic urban-rural segregation to a multiplication of legal statuses, boundaries and hierarchies of citizenship that do not operate exclusively along the line of geographical boundaries. These technologies of citizenship are also examined from a global comparative perspective. Whereas the hukou regime that offers internal migrants differentiated access to rights based on their assumed economic worth is reminiscent of the governance of international migration in other national contexts, the suzhi discourse can be compared to the idea of liberal improvement.

Eli Friedman, Chair, ILR School and Director of the CCCI for Spring '21 hosts and moderates. Professor Friedman teaches the course that is linked to this lecture series, ILRIC 4395, Empire of Migrants.

CCCI was established to create a forum for scholars, researchers, and students with contemporary China interests in any aspect of contemporary China. CCCI is a collaborative effort of the East Asia Program, CAPS, and Asian Studies.

Existing work presents mixed findings on the impact of weather events on international mobility. Relying on fine-grained data over a long-time span (1980-2019) in the Mexico-U.S. setting, we turn to machine learning (ML) tools to first determine if weather events can predict migration choices of 150,000+ individuals. We use random-forest models which allow us to include a comprehensive list of weather indicators measured at various lags, and to consider complex interactions among the inputs. These models rely on data-driven model selection, optimize predictive performance, but often produce ‘black-box’ results. In our case, the results show that weather indicators offer at best a modest improvement in migration predictions. We then attempt to open the black box and model the linkages between select weather indicators and migration choices. We find the combination of precipitation and temperature extremes and their particular sequencing to be crucial to predicting weather-driven migration responses out of Mexico. We also show heterogeneity in these responses by household wealth status. Specifically, we find that wealthier households in rural communities migrate in the immediate aftermath of a negative weather shock (relative to the ‘normal’ weather in their community), while poorer households need to experience a positive weather event following a negative one in order to migrate to the United States. This pattern suggests that migration as an adaptation strategy might be available to select households in the developing world, and the most vulnerable might be excluded from resorting on an international trip unless they experience particular sequences of weather events that allow them to raise the necessary funds first.

Filiz Garip is Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs at Princeton University. Her research lies at the intersection of migration, economic sociology and inequality. Within this general area, she studies the mechanisms that enable or constrain mobility and lead to greater or lesser degrees of social and economic inequality. Her work has appeared in American Journal of Sociology, Demography, Population and Development Review. She is also the author of On the Move: Changing Mechanisms of Mexico-U.S. Migration (Princeton University Press, 2016).

The Migration Studies minor is a university-wide, interdisciplinary undergraduate minor that prepares students to understand the historical and contemporary contexts and factors that drive international migration and shape migrant experiences around the globe. This minor draws on the rich course offerings found across the humanities and social sciences at Cornell, and is designed to draw students outside of their major fields and to extend their knowledge beyond a single country.

Contact: migration-minor@einaudi.cornell.edu, https://einaudi.cornell.edu/migration-studies-minor

The Latin American Studies Minor is an undergraduate minor across disciplines that will allow students to explore the history, culture, government, politics, economy and languages of Latin America and the Caribbean. Qualifying courses can be found in almost every college.

Contact: lasp@cornell.edu, https://lasp.einaudi.cornell.edu/

Through an interdisciplinary curriculum that you can mold to your interests, the European Studies (ES) Minor provides the opportunity to explore Europe’s past, present, and future. You will cultivate a knowledge of European languages, culture, history, politics, and international relations. The minor offers the chance to take courses across colleges on subjects that shape your understanding of a globalizing world, while also providing you with an area of expertise. You will gain critical thinking skills, language abilities, and helpful frameworks for assessing today’s most pressing issues in Europe and around the world. https://einaudi.cornell.edu/programs/institute-european-studies/academi…

Several funding opportunities are available for you to pursue undergraduate research projects focused on Europe. Join the information session to learn about application requirements, deadlines, and how to construct a strong proposal. https://einaudi.cornell.edu/programs/institute-european-studies/funding

Contact: ies@cornell.edu