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Call for chapters for a book provisionally titled:

=93Leaving Europe behind: Contemporary Experiences of Transcontinental Migr= ants=94

Editors: Brigitte Suter, Malm=F6 University, and Lisa =C5kesson, University= of Gothenburg

In a time where European unity is politically challenged by the question of= immigration and integration, it is easy to overlook the fact that there a= re significant numbers of Europeans leaving the continent. We are here not = primarily referring to the return of people who once have migrated to Europ= e, but to labour/economic migration of people born in Europe. Consequently,= in academic scholarship, little is known about why Europeans leave the con= tinent, how they chose their destination, and how they experience their mig= rant life.

Yet it is likely that Europeans leave their continent for a number of diffe= rent reasons. The economic recession of 2008 has left a negative impact on = labour market conditions throughout the continent, but also family issues o= r career strategies sometimes lead to emigration. At the same time, many Eu= ropean multinational companies are moving or expanding their activities abr= oad, and governments increasingly invest in platforms to strengthen their e= xport market abroad - including sending their citizens abroad. Furthermore,= also increased intermarriage as well as family ties are generally importan= t factors in out-migration.

Our anticipated volume aims to bring together contributions on emigration e= xperiences of Europeans that go beyond the established scholarly knowledge.= Through in-depth accounts on the everyday lives of European migrants, the = objective is to shed light on how contemporary global economic, political a= nd social transformations spur new forms of migration and mobility experien= ces. These forms, however, may be deeply rooted in historical pasts. By del= ving into accounts of everyday social integration and transnational and loc= al connectivity, the book constitutes an essential piece in our understandi= ng of how Europeans see themselves in the world.

Thematically, we are interested in contributions that address the following= (or related) questions from a range of (inter-)disciplinary perspectives:

How do Europeans experience economic, cultural or social integration at the= ir place of migration? What kind of transnational desires and activities do= they have? How do they experience or narrate their =91host=92 society thro= ugh the lenses of national identity, gender, age, race/ethnicity, and occup= ation? And, finally, with the emergence of new global actors, what kind of = power relations are played out between them and their =91hosts=92?

We envision contributions on migration projects that are primarily - direct= ly or indirectly - related to economic reasons and labour markets. As such,= some migrants may move to escape unemployment or to access career strategi= es, while others may have non-economic reasons but use labour as a channel = for migration. It is therefore not the primary objective of this project to= look at retirement migration, backpacker=92s mobility and lifestyle migrat= ion purely motivated by cultural imaginaries and consumption.

We have the ambition to present a well-balanced selection of empirical cont= ributions in terms of geographical location (emigration from the Southern, = Eastern, Northern and Western part of Europe) and destinations. A preferenc= e is given to migration to destinations outside the Western world/Global No= rth, such as Africa, Asia and South America. Finally, many studies may cate= gorise Europeans strictly into nationalities. We are open, however, to cont= ributions that go beyond this established category and that add a different= angle in accounting for Europe=92s increasingly diverse ethnic and cultura= l landscapes and identities.

In case we receive more abstracts than what a book reasonably can contain, = we will base our selection on the geographical destination (Africa, Asia an= d South American destinations are preferred), the quality of the work, and = the novelty of the approach.

Interested authors should send a title, a brief description of the proposed= chapter (300-500 words maximum) and short bio to Brigitte Suter (brigitte.= suter@mau.se) and Lisa =C5kesson (lisa.akesso= n@globalstudies.gu.se) no later t= han 1 June 2018. We will communicate our decision at the end of June. A wor= kshop with draft versions of the chapters is expected to take place in Malm= =F6 or Gothenburg in November 2018.