A Comparative Study of the Concept of Diaspora and the Diasporic Communities

我们项目的目的是通过不同学科的不同研究人员的各种跨学科调查和研究的合作来阐述“散居”的概念。为此，从2004年起，我们在大阪经济法律大学亚太伙伴关系中心（CAPP）定期召开了散居研究小组会议，并参加了一些相关的研究小组或专题讨论会。其中，我们举行了两次大型专题讨论会；2006年9月，“亚洲散居者：参照日本的情况”；2007年2月，CAPP国际研讨会“迈向多元文化主义与移民人权保护：亚洲散居者与非洲散居者的比较研究”。后者的结果已发表为MUSHAKOJI Kinhide， HAMA国彦和HAYAO Takanori（编）。散居与社会转型：与亚洲和非洲移民共存的挑战（Kokusai-Shoin, 2008），日文版和英文版。我们的研究重点是：模糊性、杂交性（尤其是在亲密领域）、少数群体的可见性/不可见性、劳动力的女性化和种族化、跨国资本主义和劳动分工、公民身份、国籍的概念等等。这项研究还有助于组织和联络不同的研究人员，否则他们就不会见面了。这将是我们对这一领域的进展所作的另一项贡献。

The purpose of our project has been to elaborate the concept of “diaspora(s)" through the collaboration of various, trans-disciplinary surveys and researches by different researchers from different disciplines.To fulfill this purpose, we have had regular meetings of Diaspora Study Group at the Centre for Asia Pacific Partnership (CAPP) of Osaka University of Economics and Law from 2004, along with participating some relevant study groups or symposia. Among others, we held two major symposia; the CAPP Pre-symposium “Diasporas in Asia: With Reference to the Japanese Situation" in September 2006, and the CAPP International Symposium “Toward Multiculturalism and Protection of the Human Rights for Migrants: A Comparative Study of Asian Diaspora and African Diaspora" on February 2007. The result of the latter has been published as MUSHAKOJI Kinhide, HAMA Kunihiko and HAYAO Takanori (eds.) Diasporas and the Social Transformation: The Callenges of Coexistence with Asian and African Migrants (Kokusai-Shoin, 2008) in Japanese as well as an English version.Our study focused on: ambiguity, hybridity (especially in the intimate sphere), visibility/invisibility of minorities, feminization and racialization of labor, transnational capitalism and the division of labor, the concept of citizenship, nationality, and so on.This study also served to organizing and networking various researchers who otherwise would not have met. That would be another contribution of our part to the progress of this field.