Digital Readings at Seagull #6: Migration and Labour

Join us for the reading at https://bit.ly/3bqi0fT Meeting ID: 747 1964 0853 Password: 4VbHw4

In this reading session we will look at stories of migration and labor. Economic need has been one of the primary factors which drive people to travel, uproot them from their homes, expose them to long, often perilous journeys across seas and oceans. In this lock-down, images of migrant laborers, risking long and physically hazardous journeys have flooded news outlets.

Histories of countries around the Bay of Bengal have been shaped by painful, often desperate stories of migration. But this migrant population also lends itself to the unique and fraught post-colonial identity of these nations. Issues of identity still remain unresolved decades after these countries decolonized and grappled with making their boundaries and fixing down notions of national identity. In this session, we will talk about this difficult history.

You can bring any reading which involves representations of migrant laborers in literature, their emotional and physical ordeals, excerpts from journalistic entries, historical/ethnographic narratives around migrant labor and so on.

Looking forward to reading with all of you!