This interdisciplinary panel highlights emerging methodological developments in the study of post-colonial migration through empirically based research on African and Caribbean populations in the UK and France.  Panelists engage a variety of qualitative methodologies (in-depth interviewing, ethnographic observation, archival research) to examine how the incorporation of African and Caribbean populations resurrects and reconfigures ethnic and racial boundaries in European nations.  In particular, we explore new issues in the comparative study of race and ethnicity derived from recent work on black populations in Europe.  Our papers combine rigorous, innovative field research with transatlantic perspectives on demographic transformations and race-based collective action among Europeans of African and Caribbean descent.

These qualitative studies explore themes including: 1) Reflexive accounts of the researchers’ experiences  studying “black” populations as European and American citizens of various ethnoracial backgrounds 2) The influence of national traditions and perspectives on race and ethnicity in constructing research projects and methodologies in the UK and France 3) The transnational diffusion of images, cultural scripts and collective memories related to racial and ethnic belonging 4) Similarities and differences between European and American incorporation of African and Caribbean minorities 5) The impact of global ethnoracial "events" - such as the election of Barack Obama in the US in shaping race relations in Europe.