Migrations: A World on the Move

E. Tendayi Achiume is a professor of law at UCLA. Her research focuses on international migration, refugee displacement, and especially the role of international law in shaping the way that borders work. Today’s episode covers a broad scope of Achiume’s work, including colonialism, human rights, and migration. This episode is a podcast mashup with Ufahamu Africa, a podcast on life and politics on the African continent, and Eleanor is joined by the show's co-host, Rachel Beatty Riedl, for the interview.LinksE. Tendayi AchiumeRacial Borders by E. Tendayi AchiumeMigration as Decolonization by E. Tendayi AchiumeReport of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, E. Tendayi Achiume - Ecological crisis, climate justice and racial justice

In a visit to Novellara, Italy, last summer, our host Eleanor Paynter and guest host Elena Bellina learned about the community of Sikh Indians who began migrating to the area in the 1980s. The Sikhs are one of more than 50 different immigrant communities among the town's residents, but they've played an important role in shaping the region. As you'll hear in this episode, the story of this community is one about the search for stability, building and sustaining a sense of home in a new place, and the crossing of cultures.Our guests are Iqbal Singh, vice president of the town's gurdwara, Elena Carletti, the mayor of Novellara, and Barbara Bertolani, a sociologist studying Sikh communities in Italy.LinksElena CarlettiBarbara BertolaniGurdwara Singh Sabha in NovellaraNovellara, Italy"Attending Houses of Worship as Homes Out of the Home" by Barbara Bertolani and Sara BonfantiNovellara photo project by Jai ToorMovement to have Sikhism Formally Recognized by the Italian State (in Italian)Coverage of the 2023 Nagar Kirtan Celebrations (in Italian)

The next episode of Migrations: A World on the Move is coming soon! In the meantime, enjoy this introduction to a new podcast from our colleagues at the South Asia Program, available now wherever you get your podcasts.

Our guest today is Momar Ndiaye, assistant professor of dance at Ohio State University (OSU) and a celebrated choreographer. Momar’s work in African dance and contemporary dance is internationally recognized, and he’s toured across the U.S. and abroad. In our conversation, we view migration through the lens of dance and recognize it as an embodied experience. To interview Momar, Eleanor is joined by Amy Shuman, professor emerita at OSU. Her formative work in narrative studies includes books, articles, and collaborations on human rights and political asylum. Momar, Amy, and Eleanor talk broadly about human rights and migration in postcolonial contexts, ideas of how human rights operate and fail, and what that has to do with the crossing of borders.LinksMomar NdiayeAmy ShumanTechnologies of Suspicion and the Ethics of Obligation in Political Asylum edited by Bridget M. Haas and Amy ShumanUniversal Declaration of Human RightsWest and Central Africa - Precarious Migration Routes to Europe - West African Atlantic Route"Frontex Planning Operations in Senegal and Mauritania, Claims NGO"

This summer, hosts Eleanor Paynter and Elena Bellina visited the Fondazione Archivio Diaristico Nazionale in Italy, an archive of stories and writing ranging from diaries to handwritten notes on loose slips of paper. Eleanor and Elena spoke with the director of the archive, Natalia Cangi, and researcher Giorgia Alù for this episode about the migrant stories present in the archive. Thanks to Isabella Corletto for her translation and voice acting for this episode. LinksGiorgia AlùFondazione Archivio Diaristico NazionalePiccolo Museo del Diaro (Little Museum of Diaries)DiMMi ProjectOpening Australia’s Multilingual Archive project2021 DiMMi Award Presentation2022 DiMMi Award Presentation

This season, we're thinking about crossing, not only the physical crossing of national borders, but various forms of encounter and exchange that happen because of those migrations. Several episodes this season will look closely at crossing in the context of Italy, exploring how language and culture cross borders, how the focus on historical migrations helps us understand the present, and more. For these episodes, host Eleanor Paynter partners with colleague and guest host Elena Bellina, adjunct professor of Italian at New York University. Today's conversation is with multilingual writers Ubah Cristina Ali Farah and Amara Lakhous, whose work has been shaped by their own crossings. LinksAmara Lakhous"How Somali Women Are Breaking Tradition to Write Novels" in BBC News"Reimagining Italy through Black Women's Eyes"Commander of the River by Ubah Cristina Ali Farah"Bambi" by Ubah Cristina Ali FarahLe Stazioni della Luna by Ubah Cristina Ali FarahLa danza dell'orice (Words for Portraits) by Ubah Cristina Ali FarahDispute Over a Very Italian Piglet by Amara LakhousThe Night Bird by Amara LakhousInterview of Amara Lakhous in Full Stop