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Conference Announcement Theme: Beyond Brain Drain Subtitle: Skills and Mobility without Methodological Nationalism Type: International Conference Institution: Research Project "Political theories of immigration and methodological nationalism", Paris Descartes University Interdisciplinary Program "Sociétés plurielles", University Sorbonne Paris Location: Paris (France) Date: 26.–27.3.2015 __________________________________________________ In the late 20th century, the metaphor of “brain drain” dominated the analysis of skilled labor mobility. Indebted to methodological nationalism, the metaphor framed the analysis as if nation-states were the primary concern. The focus was on how countries are affected by highly-skilled migration, what policies they should adopt, and what obligations do individuals owe to the countries. While constantly assuming that skilled migration is detrimental to the countries of origin, the definition of the “skilled” varied significantly through the stages this debate: the scientists of the 1960s have been replaced by the “professionals, technical and kindred workers” in the 1970s and by doctors and nurses from the 1990s on. In four decades, the emigrants’ educational level required to be labeled “highly skilled” and qualify as a loss to one’s country has dropped from the once-obligatory doctorate to only two years of tertiary education. While in more recent times, rival metaphors such as “brain gain” and “brain circulation” counteracted the assumption of the detrimental character of emigration, new metaphors like “care drain” and “brawn drain” continued to feed it. This conference builds on the recent critique according to which results in social sciences and arguments in political theory are often distorted by methodologically nationalist assumptions. The aim of this conference is therefore to reframe the analysis of skilled labor mobility without the assumptions suggested by the “brain drain” metaphor. Papers discussing the following topics are particularly welcome, though the list is not exclusive: - Are the categories of internal/ international, skilled/ unskilled migration still useful? - How are the skills constructed or justified as valuable? - How was the category of the “unskilled” constructed? - What is the relationship between mobility and skills? - If some skills or some skilled people are more mobile than others, how do we measure it? - How does mobility increase or decrease skills? - Do skilled people have duties toward their sponsors? - What are the duties of the skilled toward the global poor? - Who should finance the skilled and their mobility? Program: Thursday 26th Mobility Introduction Chair: Stéphane Chauvier (Paris) 9.15 – 9.30 Speranta Dumitru (Paris): Introducing the project 9.30 – 10.15 Alex Sager (Portland): The Critique of Methodological Nationalism and "Brain Drain" Coffee Break Neither utility, nor rights? Chair: Caroline Caplan (Paris) 10.30 – 11.30 Antoine Pécoud (Paris): Brain Drain and the free movement of people 11.30 – 12.15 Adina Preda (Limerick): Some reflections about the rights and freedoms to migrate Lunch The states’ perspective Chair: Camille Schmoll (Paris) 14.30- 15.15 Lucie Cerna (Oxford): The policy implications of the war on talent 15.15 – 16.00 Oliviero Angeli (Dresden): Taxing the entrants to protect the stayers? On the prospective responsibility of skilled migrants Break A plea for change Chair: Hélène Thiollet (Paris) 16.15 – 17.15 Michael Clemens (Washington): Losing our minds? A fresh Start in considering policy toward skilled emigration 17.15 – 17.45 General discussion Friday 27th Skills Whose skills, which serfdom? Chair: Shirin Shahrokni (Paris) 9.30- 10.15 Valeria Ottonelli (Genova): The "global drain" of domestic care work: what's wrong with it? Coffee Break 10.30 – 11.30 Bernardo Bolanos & Camelia Tigau (Mexico City): Diasporas and colonialism. The geopolitical dimension of skilled migration 11.30 – 12.15 Christine Straehle (Ottawa): Are they my skilled? Anti-emigration measures from a liberal perspective Lunch Cosmopolitan Views Chair: Stéphane Dufoix (Paris) 14.00- 14.45 Phillip Cole (Bristol): Labor mobility: towards a cosmopolitan ethic 14.45 - 15.30 Jean-Baptiste Meyer (Montpellier): Brain drain and the cosmopolis: conflicting views… or may be not Break Towards a new perspective on skills Chair: Yves Boquet (Bourgogne) 16.00 – 17.00 Parvati Raghuram (Milton Keynes): Dis/locating skills 17.00 – 17.30 General discussion Conveners: Speranta Dumitru (Paris 5) Stéphane Chauvier (Paris 4) Caroline Caplan (Paris 5) Venue: Salle des Thèses 5e étage Bât. Jacob 45 rue des Saints-Pères, Paris Descartes The conference is part of iNAME (Political theories of immigration and methodological nationalism, a research project at Paris Descartes) and of Sociétés plurielles, an Interdisciplinary Program of the University Sorbonne Paris Cité. It is organized by CERLIS (CNRS), INALCO and SND, Paris 4. Contact: Speranta Dumitru MCF Sciences Politiques, Faculté de Droit Université Paris Descartes Email: [email protected] Web: http://societesplurielles.fr/?page_id=704 __________________________________________________ InterPhil List Administration: http://interphil.polylog.org Intercultural Philosophy Calendar: http://cal.polylog.org __________________________________________________
