Queering Migrations [from the South]: Theoretical Perspectives and Professional Insights

Yuri Fraccaroli
Feminist Studies
UC Santa Barbara

This project considers how sex and gender dissidences shape and motivate migrations, displacements, and refuge in the context of the Global South. If it is true that the field of “Queer Migrations” amplified a mainstream perspective on migrations, it has still not sufficiently considered that about thirty eight percent of migrations occur within the Global South (OECD)––with eighty percent occurring between countries with contiguous borders (World Bank). Grounded on an ongoing and broader research project based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, a hub for Global South queer migrants, this project aims to pay close attention to the different regulations and public policies the Argentine State has implemented through partnerships with international actors (UNHCR, IMO, EU) and non-governmental organizations through private sponsorship programs. More than expanding theoretical perspectives, this project aims to critically reflect on the professional dimension of South-South migrations and how current grad students may contribute to it, either from academic job positions or from other places in this network. In the context of a growing migration crisis, how can we support collaborative and creative partnerships from the academy? How do academics move towards other active positions? And is it possible to occupy both positions?