Boundaries and Belonging in the Indo-Myanmar Borderlands: Chin refugees in Mizoram
This seminar will consider the case of Chin refugees from Myanmar in the north-east Indian State of Mizoram, drawing on Migdal’s (2004) concepts of ‘virtual checkpoints’ and ‘mental maps’ to analyse and interpret the trajectory of boundary-creation, boundary-policing and boundary-removal in Mizo-Chin relationships. It is often assumed that the life course of displacement is one of deteriorating relationships between refugees and a host community. This seminar will consider whether recent conditions in Mizoram offer preliminary evidence for an alternative outcome, of a case study where cognitive boundaries have not simply hardened against incomers but have (to some extent) expanded to accommodate those previously defined as Other.
Date: 26 April 2017, 14:00 (Wednesday, 1st week, Trinity 2017)
Venue: St Antony's College, 62 Woodstock Road OX2 6JF
Venue Details: Deakin Room
Speakers: Speaker to be announced
Organising department: Asian Studies Centre
Organiser: Dr Matthew J Walton
Organiser contact email address: asian@sant.ox.ac.uk
Part of: Southeast Asia Seminar
Booking required?: Not required
Audience: Public
Editor: Maxime Dargaud-Fons