Panel Discussion “Knowledge Born in Global Transit? Revisiting Migrants' Histories”

This panel discussion explored the relationship between migration and knowledge production, emphasizing the role of migrants as transmitters and producers of new knowledge. Using historical case studies, Simone Lässig challenged the binary of assimilation and conflict by showing how immigrants in the 19th and 20th centuries acted as cultural translators, shaping both their own communities and host societies. Intersecting the history of migration with the history of knowledge, the talk offered insights into the dynamics of migration and reveals the ways in which migrants contribute to global knowledge flows.

Simone Lässig also introduced projects emerging at the German Historical Institute Washington, including the Migrant Knowledge Network. While Mariko Iijima added a Japanese perspective on the approach based on her own research on the Japanese diaspora, Harald Kümmerle discussed questions how the migrant knowledge lens could be of benefit for area studies in general and Japanese studies in particular.

Program

17:30 Introduction by Franz Waldenberger (5 minutes)

17:35 Lecture by Simone Lässig (30 minutes)

18:05 Comments by Mariko Iijima (15 minutes)

18:20 Comments by Harald Kümmerle (5 minutes)

18:25 Response by Simone Lässig (5 minutes)

18:30 Discussion (30 minutes)

Speakers

Simone Lässig, Director, German Historical Institute Washington

Mariko Iijima, Professor, Department of English Studies, Sophia University

Franz Waldenberger, Director, German Institute for Japanese Studies

Harald Kümmerle, Principal Researcher, German Institute for Japanese Studies