Polish Migration in the age of ‘staying at home’

This is the fourth Polish migration conference at SSEES. At previous conferences the logo of a tree putting down roots symbolised Polish migrants’ propensity to settle in their countries of migration. Papers also explored how this trend combined with the continuing dynamism of transnational ties between Poland and countries abroad, within families and friendship networks, and among entrepreneurs and civil society activists. Restrictions linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as Brexit, have intensified insecurities and created challenges for the transnational mobility which previously typified the lifestyles of many Polish and other EU migrants. As for many people across the world, the injunction to ‘stay at home’ has raised the question ‘Where is home’?

There is no fee for the conference. Please contact Anne White anne.white@ucl.ac.uk to register and receive the Zoom link.

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Programme

Thursday 17 June

9.15 Introduction

9.30–10.50 Migration trends

Anzhela Popyk, Magdalena Lesińska and Karolis  Dambrauskas, ‘From “liquid” to “solid”: the evolution of the post-accession diasporas of Poland’

Olga Czeranowska, Iga Wermińska-Wiśnicka and Izabela Grabowska, ‘Socio-demographic portraits of migrants from Poland and migrant selectivity’

11.10-12.30 Transnational families during the pandemic

Weronika Kloc-Nowak and Louise Ryan, ‘Ageing (grand)parents of Polish migrants, COVID-19 and the efforts to stay in touch while staying at home’

Sonia Styrkacz and Michał P. Garapich, ‘On the emergence of e-romanipen –  Polish Roma transnational families in times of Covid-19 pandemic’

2.00-4.00 Precariousness and discrimination

Agnieszka Radziwinowiczówna and Benjamin Morgan, ‘Partners in deportation: mapping the actors involved in the biopolitical deportation of homeless EU citizens from the UK, 2010-17’

Kathy Burrell and  Mateus Schweyher, ‘”You can’t do anything if you don't have a personal number”: Polish migrants’ experiences of everyday bordering in Sweden’

Mateus Schweyher, ‘Between precarious work and inferior social rights: EU citizenship of Polish labour migrants in Norway’

Friday 18 June

9.30-10.50 Sources of security

Kamil Łuczaj, ‘Facing Three Crises: Polish migrant academics in times of the Global Financial Crisis, Brexit, and COVID-19’

Kamil Matuszczyk, ‘Income, job stability or the security during retirement? Strategies of Polish migrant care workers in Germany towards labour market security’

11.10–12.30 Acculturation and ‘embedding’

Izabela Grabowska, ‘Tacit incorporation/embedding in the British labour market by Polish migrants in comparison to Lithuanian migrants’

Nathaniel Dziura, ‘Variation and acculturation: Language and identity in LGBTQ+ Polish migrants to England’

2.00-4.00 Activism and entrepreneurship

Katarzyna Andrejuk, ‘From ethnic bubbles to superdiversity. Responses to crisis and new patterns of entrepreneurship among Polish migrants in the UK’

Sara Young and Anne White, ‘Polish Saturday schools as civil society organisations during the COVID-19 pandemic’

Piotr Goldstein, ‘Spółdzielnia / Cooperative’ (film)

4.00-4.30 Concluding discussion