Special issue of The Journal of Urban Anthropology

Editors: Dr Ioana Radu, Dr Ioana Comat, and Ruxandra Iuliana Petrinca (Canache)

In 2016 the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) had reached a deadlock when Romania and Bulgaria refused to sign on to the deal if their second-class treatment afforded by Canada would continue. The two countries were the only EU members not to benefit from Canada’s visa-free regime. With a net benefit threshold set at C$1.5 billion, CETA was a major Canadian opportunity not to be missed.

The fact that Romanians today have to bring a major trade agreement to a halt just so they can visit family and friends in Canada is symbolic of the major shifts in socioeconomic and geopolitical configurations that globalization has engendered. Almost two centuries ago, just as nowadays, Canada was reeling from a difficult economic recession. It thirsted for settlers to remake its Prairies into the New World Breadbasket. Romanians were then prized targets, enjoying extensive targeted advertising and dedicated immigration agencies. As then Minister of the Interior, Sir Clifford Sifton, put it: “a stalwart peasant in a sheep-skin coat, born on the soil, whose forefathers have been farmers for ten generations, with a stout wife and a half dozen children, is a good quality.” The 21st Century is no longer looking for farmers with large families. The knowledge society requires a different kind of workforce and plays by different kinds of rules. The city thrives without knowing what the countryside does, yet, is just as dependent on its harvests. 

This special issue of the Journal of Urban Anthropology is seeking contributions that explore the personal, institutional, and policy shifts of urban immigration and migration. We are hoping to gain a better understanding of these urban processes, adaption and responses. We encourage contribution from both historical and contemporary perspectives. Although we prefer contributions from social anthropology, urban studies, history and medical anthropology, we encourage and welcome interdisciplinary perspectives.

Abstracts Due (January 31, 2018)

Abstracts should be between 300-500 words and include a title, author name(s), and a 150 word biography of the author(s).

Email your abstracts to: oanarw at gmail.com

Submissions Due (April 1, 2018)

Articles should be between 7000-9000 words.