Dr Esteban Devis-Amaya

 Undergraduate

• Culture Language and Society
• Business Environment in Europe
• Researching Cross-Cultural Experiences
• Independent Study in Applied Languages
• Spanish C1(1)
• Spanish C1(2)
• Translation Skills

Postgraduate

• Globalisation in the 21st Century
• EU Institutions and Policies

Module Coordinator for:

• Placement Year in Applied Languages
• Culture Language and Society
• Researching Cross-Cultural Experiences
• Spanish C1(1)
• Spanish C1(2)
• Globalisation in the 21st Century

Also Coordinator of the Dialogue in Migration and Refugee Studies Lecture and Seminar Series.

Areas of interest

• Migration and diasporas
• Latin America and the Middle East
• Student experience

My research interests focus on migration, identity and diasporas: the way communities perform, produce and reproduce belonging, and the spaces they create and recreate. My main areas of study cover Latin America and the Middle East, and the links between the two regions. In addition, I am interested in the experiences and sense of belonging of students during and after their year abroad, including issues around identity and integration. I am currently researching the Venezuelan migration within Latin America.

My PhD thesis research focused on the active Colombian-Lebanese community in Bogota, focusing on their identity and the importance of social class and religion for their belonging. It followed an ethnographic approach researching the community’s organisations and the divisions that social class and religion caused within it. 

Research group membership

• Migration and Refugees
• Networks and Localities

Conferences and guest lectures

• Universidad del Rosario – November 2021
  Online – Bogotá, Colombia. Guest Lecturer for the International Migration Programme.  Open Lecture: ‘No tan nuevo como pensamos: La migración árabe hacia Colombia en perspectiva’.
• LASA 2021 (Latin American Studies Association) – Crisis global, desigualdades y centralidad de la vida – May 2021
  Online, University of Vancouver. Organised and chaired a double-panel and a round table on Venezuelan migration. The round table was called Knowledge interchange on the Venezuelan Migration – lessons from other migrations, times, and contexts; and the double panel was called Venezuelan Migration in a Time of Crisis. I presented a paper titled: ‘Desired and undesired migrants – comparing the experiences of the first and second waves of Venezuelan migration into Colombia’.
• 56th Annual Conference of the Society of Latin American Studies (SLAS) – April 2020
  Online, University of Amsterdam. Organised a panel called ‘Challenges of the Venezuelan Migration in Latin America / Desafíos de la migración venezolana en América Latina’ and presented a paper titled ‘La migración venezolana y el régimen de Nicolás Maduro’.
• Academia Naval de Estudios Estratégicos / Colombian Naval Academy of Strategic Studies – January 2020
  Bogotá, Colombia. Gave the inaugural lecture of the lecture series for the Naval Academy of Strategic Studies. My paper was titled “Fenómeno de la Migración Venezolana: Retos, Oportunidades e Impacto en la Seguridad y Defensa de Colombia”.
• Border Trouble: Moving Through, Between, Within, and Beyond History and Anthropology Workshop – Institute of Latin American Studies (ILAS) – June 2019
  Institute of Latin American Studies, University of London. Presented a paper on ‘Barriers to Migrant Integration in Latin America: comparing Arab and Venezuelan migration in the region’.
• Cultures, Identities & Divisions Seminar Group – February 2019
  Oxford Brookes University.  Presented a paper titled ‘Desired and Undesired Migrants: The Lebanese Diaspora in Colombia’ to staff and students from HSS.
• 56th International Conference of Americanists – July 2018
  University of Salamanca. Presented a paper entitled: ‘Social and ethnic categorisations: identification and elitism in the Lebanese diaspora’
• 54th Annual Conference of the Society of Latin American Studies (SLAS) – March 2018    
  University of Southampton. I was a member of the organising committee, and chair and discussant for two panels on Latin American migration.
• 52nd Annual Conference of the Society of Latin American Studies (SLAS) – April 2016
  University of Liverpool. Presented a paper entitled: ‘Demonstrating elite status: The political activism of the Colombian-Lebanese community in Bogota’ on a panel on Migration and Identity.
• University of Navarra, Pamplona – March 2016
  Guest speaker at the University of Navarra to give a talk on the refugee crisis and the EU response.
• MEXSU ‘Mexico Weekend Study Day: Mexico Today – May 2014
  University of Southampton. Presented and led a discussion of the film La Ciudad, directed by David Riker.
• 24th Annual Association for the Study of Ethnicity and Nationalism (ASEN) Conference ‘Nationalism and Belonging’ – April 2014
  London School of Economics (LSE). Presented a paper titled ‘Dual Belongings, Contesting Identities and Maintaining Social Status: the Colombian-Lebanese in Bogota’ on the panel Belonging in South America
• 7th Annual Humanities Postgraduate Conference: Adaptation And Assimilation – March 2014
  University of Southampton. Presented a paper titled ‘Identity Construction and Social Status: the fluid adaptation of the Colombian-Lebanese in Bogota’ on the panel Adaptation and Assimilation of National Identity
• 5th Annual Humanities Postgraduate Conference: ‘Interactions And Identity’ – March 2012
  University of Southampton. Presented a paper titled ‘Political events, Ethnicity and Society: the case of the Colombian-Lebanese community in Bogota’ on the panel Negotiating Inclusion.
• Sussex Centre for Migration Research Graduate Students Workshop ‘Migration Research in Progress’ – July 2011
  University of Sussex. Presented a paper titled ‘The influence of religion on the Colombian-Lebanese community in Bogota’ on the panel Integration, Ethnicity and Religion.
• 18th Sociolinguistics Symposium – September 2010
  University of Southampton. I was part of a team of helpers at the Symposium, attended by more than 600 delegates. Duties included liaising with chairs and presenters, answering delegates’ questions and solving arising problems.  
• 46th Annual Conference of the Society of Latin American Studies (SLAS) – April 2010
  University of Bristol. Presented a paper titled ‘The re-identification of the Colombian-Lebanese community in Bogota’ on a panel on Migration and Identity.