We opened our computers, and connected ourselves to the meeting – ‘Please wait for the host to start this meeting’.
Unfortunately, we didn’t have the chance to go with our colleagues from the other institutions to Ljubljana these 3 days. It was really a shame, since the Peak Event, as the name implies, should mark the apex of this learning experience: it is finally the moment in which we see the faces and bodies of those who we have seen on cameras for the past couple of months; the concrete presence of the brains and hands whose words, ideas and opinions we have read, heard and discussed since the beginning of this educational journey; it is, in sum, the most memorable part of this work – ‘You have been successfully connected to the meeting’.
Nonetheless, we still had the opportunity to attend this reunion in a virtual way, which, although not being the same as being there physically, still allowed us to participate in the most important part of the event, that is to say, the presentation of the works we have all made this far in our respective institutions, and the exchange of ideas and suggestions in order to continue our research in a better and more well-rounded way when we come back home (or close our computers for that day, in our case).
And that’s what we had the opportunity to do: through an intense and productive day, we had the chance to learn through our colleagues more about the Labour Migration in France from the 19th to the 20th century, in particular the Italian and Moroccan immigration; the historical relationship between migration and the law in Belgium; the migration nuances of the UK, specially the case of the Caribbeans and of Latin America; and the interesting consequences that the break-up of the Habsburg monarchy had in the labour migration/mobility of those regions. Most important of all, we had the chance to compare the findings of our work to the findings of the other groups, and realize just how differently (and many times similarly) the category of race operated throughout Europe, giving form to many ways of prejudice, social control, legal constructions and epistemes.
We are grateful to all of those who made questions in regard to our work and that paved the way for us to give a more legal approach to our research that to this point has focused mainly on the sociological aspects of race and labour migration. In a certain way, we think that by way of these acknowledgments we highlight precisely what is it that makes EUTopia such an interesting and innovatory experience: the fact that by mixing several student groups of different institutions around Europe we are bound to enrich and complete each other’s research, because we all come from radically different intellectual backgrounds and personal experiences.
And that is why we have
really enjoyed the Peak Event, and why we view EUTopia as a really unique and
different learning experience.
Sofia Dias & Rafael Guerra
Universidade Nova de Lisboa
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