August 23, 2023: The Zoryan Institute and the University of Toronto Press (UTP) are pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Jo Laycock, a distinguished scholar in Armenian Studies, Migration and History, as a new co-editor of Diaspora: A Journal of Transnational Studies. Dr. Jo Laycock will join Dr. Sossie Kasbarian and Dr. Talar Chahinian as co-editors of the journal.
Established in 1991, Diaspora: A Journal of Transnational Studies is a peer-reviewed academic journal that is published twice a year by the University of Toronto Press. Diaspora has played a pivotal role in shaping the field of Diaspora Studies and Transnationalism, engaging in discourses ranging from Postcolonial Studies to World Literatures, and themes from environmental migrants to global networks. The journal endeavours to rethink mobility and mobilization, and thus reorient transnational accounts of home, homeland, host state, and diaspora.
Dr. Jo Laycock, a Senior Lecturer in Migration History at the University of Manchester, is a prominent scholar with a strong academic background. Holding degrees in History and Archaeology from Durham University, she pursued an MA in Modern European History and completed a PhD at the University of Manchester. Her research focuses on forced displacement, diasporas, and humanitarianism, examining challenges faced by displaced communities and exploring topics such as emergency relief, resettlement, collective memory, and the dynamics of refugee and diasporic “homecomings.”
On joining Diaspora as a co-editor Dr. Laycock commented that:
“I look forward to joining the excellent editorial team at Diaspora from September 2023. Since its foundation the journal has played a central role in developing transnational perspectives across a wide range of disciplines. As a historian, I am particularly keen to engage with contributions which provide new insights into displacement, mobilities and diaspora from a historical perspective. More broadly, I look forward to this opportunity to foster research which will drive forward new conceptual and methodological approaches to the study of transnational lives, cultures and communities.”
Speaking to the contributions that Dr. Laycock will bring to the journal, co-editor of Diaspora, Dr. Sossie Kasbarian, states:
“We are delighted to welcome Dr Jo Laycock on to our editorial team. Jo comes with a wealth of experience and knowledge, and we are so pleased that she will be joining us on Diaspora. We admire her excellence and commitment and look forward to working together.”
Antonia Pop, Vice President of Publishing at UTP remarked that,
“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Laycock to the Diaspora editorial leadership, Dr. Laycock joins a well-established and progressive team. With extensive and diverse research interests, she will add fresh perspectives and aid her fellow co-editors Dr. Kasbarian and Dr. Chahinian in further advancing Diaspora’s important work in the ever-evolving study of transnationalism.”
With Dr. Laycock’s extensive research background and dedication to advancing the understanding of transnationalism and diasporic experiences, the journal will continue to foster innovative research, dialogue and provide a platform for interdisciplinary scholarship.
For more information about Diaspora: A Journal of Transnational Studies, please visit our website here.
The Zoryan Institute is a non-profit organization that serves the cause of scholarship and public awareness relating to issues of universal human rights, genocide, and diaspora-homeland relations. This is done through the systematic continued efforts of scholars and specialists using a comparative and multidisciplinary approach and in accordance with the highest academic standards.
To these ends the Institute undertakes and supports multi-disciplinary research, documentation, lectures, seminars, colloquia, and publications.
