Ford Seminar - International Social Networks and Motivation for Migration in the Sahel

Jaimie Bleck, Associate Professor of Political Science; Senior Research Advisor, Ford Program; Kellogg Faculty Fellow
Ali Lodermeier '18, Research Program Coordinator, Notre Dame Initiative for Global Development; Ford Program Research Associate 

Faculty Fellow Jaimie Bleck (political science) and Ford Program research associate Ali Lodermeier '18 (Research Program Coordinator, ND Initiative for Global Development) will present information about their Ford Program research project that brings together fieldwork and “big data” methodologies to explore how international migration influences norms and values among migrants and their communities of origin. With co-PI and Faculty Fellow A. Nilesh Fernando (economics), they focus on migration from Mali and Sri Lanka to Europe and the Gulf States, looking at differences in values relating to religion, social status, and gender among three groups: migrants currently living abroad, returned migrants, and young people who have not left their home communities. In addition, they are studying the array of social networks among migrants currently living abroad and among their families at home to help understand how information flows in relation to migration patterns, ultimately influencing these norms and values.

Click here to read more details on this research project.