서강대 트랜스내셔널인문학연구소(소장 임지현)와 서강대 동아연구소(소장 강희정), 서강대 디지털역사연구소(소장 정면)가 ‘아시아, 그리고 역사 없는 사람들(Asia and the People without History)’ 공동 국제학술대회를 연다.

6월 8일 서강대학교 다산관 지하 101호에서 9:30~18:30까지 열린 이번 학술대회에서는 중국과 동남아시아의 접경지역과 변방의 소수민족과 이주민, 그리고 한국에 정착한 중국계 이주민의 과거와 현재를 살펴본다.

공동주최자는 다년간 급변하는 국제정세 안에서 아시아와 그 구성원의 정치적, 역사적, 경제적, 문화적 역할에 대한 다양한 연구성과를 내왔다.

Asia and the People without History

Borderlands of China had been the main battleground where the multiple empires and small kingdoms contended for control over human and natural resources for centuries. When the Western colonial empires with modern cartography and technology joined the competition in earnest from the nineteenth century, border-making began. Drawing international and internal boundaries intensified the empire’s desire to territorialize the sphere of influence, inevitably pressuring people to move. In particular, numerous people who did not belong to a dominant ethnicity lost their homelands and livelihoods and were forced to migrate. As the Second World War accelerated the decolonization process, more people from China migrated to “other” Asia. They sought new lands where they could preserve their own identities and traditions. While some amalgamated into a nation-state, many have remained in the margins. 

They now constitute the so-called “ethnic minority” of China and Southeast Asian countries or “stateless” people in between. 

This international conference intends to survey the history of these minorities and migrants in China, Southeast Asia, and Korea under the general theme “Asia and the People without History.” “History” in this survey is broadly defined, not limited to the chronological records.

The meaning and role of history here extend to the process of forming identity and asserting sovereignty, legitimacy, and autonomy of beings. The history of migrating minorities came to receive international attention as the newly established nation-state’s desire to create a hierarchy in the racial, social, and cultural spheres engendered clashes between the states and the minorities. To assimilate the ethnic minority, nation-states have attempted to depoliticize their polities and denied their own histories and identities, making them the “people without history.” In turn, the migrating minority have endeavored to restore their history to uphold their identity, unity, and autonomy.

Under the general theme, the conference will delve into the five questions. First, in what context did the lands between empires in China, Korea, and Southeast Asia become “bordered” by the international boundaries? Second, what are the factors and conditions that forced the people in China to seek new homes in Korea and Southeast Asia? Third, in what ways did the border-making by the empires and consequent migration of the ethnic minority people influence the latter’s sense of belonging? Fourth, how have the ethnic minority migrants negotiated their community’ autonomy and identity through the process of making their own history? Fifth, how have the Southeast Asian, Korean, and Chinese governments responded to the movement and migration of people across international boundaries, and what are the implications of their policies?

The conference consists of four sessions with the following subthemes.

• Migrating to the Margins

• Historicizing Homelands

• Integrating or Isolating Identities

• Separating or Stratifying Status

Enriched by lengthy fieldwork and inspired by firsthand experiences, twelve presentations will provide insights and inspiration for understanding the meaning and role of "people without history" in Asia.