Project description
Exploring the caste impact on South Asian diasporas
The South Asian diaspora in the UK and USA is often associated with high-skilled professionals in IT, medicine, and engineering, as well as an increasing presence of South Asian politicians. However, these images can obscure significant issues, particularly the influence of the caste system on global labour. With this in mind, the ERC-funded CRITCASTE project will explore the impact of caste on labour migrations, focusing on sectors such as construction, domestic work and commercial kitchens. It will examine socio-spatial mobility in migrants’ home countries and investigate the connections between law, labour and mobility. It will document the caste’s role in diasporic labour practices and analyse the effects on social mobility.
Objective
The South Asian diaspora in the UK and USA is estimated to be 10 million strong. The dominant images that represent this diverse community are those of “high-skilled” professionals in IT, medicine, and engineering, with a rising profile of the “model minority” diasporic South Asian politician. These images obscure a dark underbelly of the global circulation of South Asian labour facilitated by the centuries old caste system. While the persistence of caste in shaping labour relations within the subcontinent is well-documented, the continued relevance of caste in diasporic labour relations is starkly understudied. In the past decade, a growing number of instances have come to light wherein the legal regimes of host countries have come into conflict with caste(d) labour practices, thereby bringing locally situated questions of caste oppression into direct conversation with globally legible rights-based frameworks. This research project will investigate the caste dimensions of diasporic labour migrations in three sectors – construction, domestic work, and commercial kitchens - across the UK and USA, and assess their impact on socio-spatial mobility at home. Through this, the project will map the intersections of law, labour, and mobilities to construct a critical global geography of caste.RQs: How does caste shape the global circulation of South Asian labour? How do these labour relations relate to legal regimes in the host countries? How do caste(d) labour migrations relate to socio-spatial mobility at home? The objectives of the project are:
• To document the role of caste in diasporic labour practices
• To investigate how these labour practices relate to extant legal protections in host countries
• To explore how social mobility is facilitated and/or impeded by these caste(d) labour practices
• To archive the diasporic life of caste and disrupt dominant narratives of the SA diaspora
• To compile a manifesto for anti-caste jurisprudence and fair labour practices
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
You need to log in or register to use this function
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
-
HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2024-STG
See all projects funded under this callHost institution
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
WC2R 2LS London
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.