Raluca Bejan, PhD
Associate Professor
Email: Raluca.Bejan@dal.ca
Phone: 902-494-2094
Mailing Address:
- comparative social policy (i.e., Canadian, British and EU)
- ideology
- South-East European and Balkan studies
- post-communist, post-socialist and post-Soviet studies
- community organizing and social movements
- philosophy of social justice
- labour and collective organizing
- migration, mobilities and citizenship
- globalization and transnationalism
- refugees’ studies/forced migration
- critical theory
- whiteness and critical race studies
Education:
BA (Hon.), Lucian Blaga University, Sibiu, Romania
SSW, George Brown College, Toronto
MSW, University of Toronto
PhD, University of Toronto
Raluca Bejan started her position as Assistant Professor at Dalhousie University in January 2020. Between July 2018 - December 2019 she was Assistant Professor of Critical Social Policy at St. Thomas University, in Fredericton, Canada. Raluca Bejan was a former Visiting Academic at the Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS), University of Oxford, UK, in 2016 and 2018.
In 2018 Raluca co-directed a documentary film on the Greek Refugees crisis, titled Trace. It was filmed on the islands of Lesvos, Chios, Samos, and in Athens, Greece. Trace won Best Feature Documentary at the Santorini Film Festival in 2019.
Relevant research contributions
Refereed contributions (selected)
- Bejan, R. & Glynn, T. (2024).“A Total Black Hole”: How COVID-19 Increased Bureaucratic Violence Against Refugees in Greece. Refuge. Canada's Journal on Refugees II Revue Canadienne sur les Réfugiés 39(2), 1-18.
- Nikolova, K., & Bejan, R. (2023). Welfare States and Covid-19 Responses: Eastern versus Western Democracies. Comparative Southeast European Studies, 70(4), 686-721.
https://doi.org/10.1515/soeu-2021-0066
- Bejan, R. (2022). Whiteness in question: The anatomy of a taxonomy across transnational contexts. Dialectical Anthropology, 46(3), 347-372.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10624-022-09665-6
- Bejan, R. and Nikolova, K. (2022). COVID-19 amongst comparable countries: A welfare state approach. Social Theory and Health, 20, 1-29.
https://doi.org/10.1057/s41285-022-00178-4
- Bejan, R. (2021). Refugees’ integration in Romania: A non-preferred choice. Working Paper. COMPAS, University of Oxford.
https://www.compas.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/WP-2021-155-The-Integration-of-Refugees-in-Romania-A-Non-Preferred-Choice.pdf
- Bejan, R. (2020). Following the refugee relocation scheme: Ideological interpretations of interstate shared responsibility in Romania. Working Paper. RESPOND, Cambridge University.
https://respondmigration.com/wp-blog/following-refugee-relocation-scheme-ideological-interpretations-of-interstate-shared-responsibility-in-romania
- Bejan, R. (2018). Problematizing the norms of fairness grounding the EU’s relocation system of shared responsibility. EUI Working Paper. Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, European University Institute.
https://cadmus.eui.eu/handle/1814/56424
- Bejan, R. (2017). Lesvos: Tracing the space of the refugee crisis. In D. Haynes, J. Howell, & F. Keles (Eds.), Maintaining refuge: Anthropological reflections in uncertain times (pp. 49–60). Society for Urban, National, and Global Anthropology and American Anthropological Association.
https://mason.gmu.edu/~dhaines1/CORI_2017_Final.pdf
- Bejan, R., Curpan, A. I., & Amza, O. (2017). The situation of unaccompanied minors in Romania in the course of Europe’s refugee crisis. Social Work & Society, 15(1).
https://dalspace.library.dal.ca/handle/10222/79450
- Bejan, R. (2017). Equal yet inequitable: The EU’s relocation system of shared responsibility. Oxford Monitor of Forced Migration, 7(1), 411.
https://dalspace.library.dal.ca/handle/10222/79457
- Bhuyan, R., Bejan, R., & Jeyapal, D. (2017). Social workers’ perspectives on social justice in social work education: How mainstreaming social justice masks structural inequalities. Social Work Education, 36(4), 118.
https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2017.1298741
- Bejan, R. (2016). The “East/West” divide and Europe’s relocation system for asylum seekers. Journal of Social Policy/ Ревија за Cоцијална Nолитика, 9(12), 9–40.
https://dalspace.library.dal.ca/handle/10222/79593
- Bejan, R., Murvai, P., Mihăilă, I. & Cherciov, M. (2015). Transnational responses to global capitalism: The case study of the Roșia Montană campaign. Transnational Social Review. A Social Work Journal, 5(2), 199–207.
https://doi.org/10.1080/21931674.2015.1034481
- Bejan, R., Craig, S. L. & Saini, M. (2014). I love my job but... A portrait of Canadian social workers’ occupational conditions. Canadian Social Work Journal, 16(1), 23–45.
https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/handle/1807/94701
- Bejan, R. (2012). A step further: How to improve a mentoring program to fully advance the labour market integration of internationally trained professionals. Canadian Journal for Social Research, 2(1), 37–47.
http://hdl.handle.net/10222/79429
- Bejan, R. (2011). Smoke and mirrors: How an allegedly inclusionary strategy perpetuates an exclusionary discourse. Canadian Ethnic Studies, 43(3), 165–181.
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/504464
Non-refereed contributions
Community Reports (selected)
- Bejan, R., Allain, K, Glynn, T. & Soto Flores, P. (2024). Falling Short: Troubles with the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program in Nova Scotia, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives-NS Office.
- Bejan, R., Allain, K., Glynn, T., & Soto Flores, P. (2023, March 1). Unfree labour: Covid-19 and migrant workers in the seafood industry in New Brunswick. TFW Maritimes. Halifax.
https://tfwmaritimes.ca/pdf/Unfree_Labour-TFWMARITIMES-NB-2023.pdf
- Bejan, R., Allain, K., Glynn, T., Wheatley, A., & Soto Flores, P. (2021). Safe at work, unsafe at home: COVID-19 and temporary foreign workers in Prince Edward Island. TFW Maritimes. Halifax.
https://tfwmaritimes.ca/pdf/Report-Safe_at_Work_Unsafe_at_Home-TFWMARITIMES-PEI-2021.pdf
- Bejan, R. & Sidhu, N. (2010). Policy without Practice: Barriers to Enrollment for Non-Status Immigrant Students in Toronto’s Catholic Schools. Toronto: Social Planning Toronto.
https://www.socialplanningtoronto.org/
Magazine articles (selected)
- Bejan, R. (2022, June 4). “NGOs are sort of a dirty word here”: Refugee service provision in Greece. Routed Magazine.
https://www.routedmagazine.com/omc22-ngos-services-greece
- Bejan, R. (2020, Aug. 24). What does Europe’s East-West divide tell us about its external borders? Crisis Magazine.
https://crisismag.net/2020/08/24/what-does-europes-east-west-divide-tell-us-about-its-external-borders/
Op-eds (selected)
- Bejan, R. & Nikolova, K. (2022, Dec.21). After the Cold War: Why COVID-19 infection and death rates were so high in eastern Europe. The Conversation.
https://theconversation.com/after-the-cold-war-why-covid-19-infection-and-death-rates-were-so-high-in-eastern-europe-196366
- Ross, N.M., Bejan, R. & Zubriki, S. (2022, Nov 21). University and school strikes across Canada are about workers’ rights — and protecting education as a public good. The Conversation.
https://theconversation.com/university-and-school-strikes-across-canada-are-about-workers-rights-and-protecting-education-as-a-public-good-194148. Republished by Academic Matters.
- Bejan, R. (2022, Oct 22). Why social workers should support the CUPE 3912 labour strike. Canadian Dimension.
https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/why-social-workers-should-support-the-cupe-3912-labour-strike
- Bejan, R., & Bryan, C. (2022, Mar. 23). How Canada capitalizes on Ukrainian refugees. Verfassungsblog.
https://verfassungsblog.de/how-canada-capitalizes-on-ukrainian-refugees/
- Bejan, R., & Bogovic, R. (2022, Mar. 11). Ukraine: How citizenship and race play out in refugees’ movements in Europe. The Conversation.
https://theconversation.com/ukraine-how-citizenship-and-race-play-out-in-refugees-movements-in-europe-178118. Republished by Dal News, FirstPost and the Oasis Reporters.
- Bejan, R., & Nabi, S. (2021, Dec.1). The EU is the real villain in the Poland-Belarus migrant crisis. The Conversation.
https://theconversation.com/the-eu-is-the-real-villain-in-the-poland-belarus-migrant-crisis-172132. Republished by Dal News.
- Bejan, R. & Nikolova, K. (2021, October 5). How Canada compares to welfare states in COVID-19 cases and deaths. The Conversation,
https://theconversation.com/how-canada-compares-to-welfare-states-in-covid-19-cases-and-deaths-167742.
Republished by Dal News and Halifax Chronicle Herald.
- Bejan, R., Allain, K, & Glynn, T. (2021, Jul. 2). COVID-19 has exacerbated migrant workers’ conditions and enforced distinctions on national lines. COMPAS, University of Oxford.
https://www.compas.ox.ac.uk/2021/covid-19-has-exacerbated-migrant-workers-conditions-and-enforced-distinctions-on-national-lines/
- Bejan, R., & Boatcă, M. (2021, Apr. 28). Migrant workers’ safety concerns should be a pandemic priority.Verfassungsblog.
https://verfassungsblog.de/migrant-workers-safety-concerns-should-be-a-pandemic-priority/
- Bejan, R., & Allain, K. (2021, Mar. 4). Profits trump COVID-19 protections for migrant seafood workers in Atlantic Canada. The Conversation.
https://theconversation.com/profits-trump-covid-19-protections-for-migrant-seafood-workers-in-atlantic-canada-154920. Republished by Yahoo! News; Dal News; AgenParl France; Latino Rebels; The Telegram; Halifax Chronicle Herald; The Guardian PEI; Cape Breton Post; Journal Pioneer; Philippine Canadian Inquirer.
- Bejan, R. (2020, Aug. 5). How we mourn the victims of tragedies depends on their citizenship status. The Conversation.
https://theconversation.com/how-we-mourn-the-victims-of-tragedies-depends-on-their-citizenship-status-130989.
Republished by Dal News; Halifax Chronicle Herald; Cape Breton Post; The Telegram; Journal Pioneer.
- Bejan, R. (2020, May 4). New Brunswick debate on migrant workers leaves a lot to be desired. rabble.ca.
https://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/raluca-bejan/2020/05/new-brunswick-debate-migrant-workers-leaves-lot-be-desired
- Bejan, R. (2020, April 17). Don’t make refugees political pawns in Turkey-EU game. The Globe Post.
https://theglobepost.com/2020/04/17/eu-turkey-refugees/
- Bejan, R. (2020, April 16). COVID-19 and disposable migrant workers. Verfassungsblog.
https://verfassungsblog.de/covid-19-and-disposable-migrant-workers/
- Bejan, R. (2019, December 1). Why some EU countries are struggling to relocate migrants. The Conversation.
https://theconversation.com/why-some-eu-countries-are-struggling-to-relocate-migrants-124827
- Bejan, R. (2019, November 20). Latest withdrawal agreement fails Romanian and Bulgarian workers. COMPAS,University of Oxford.
https://www.compas.ox.ac.uk/2019/latest-withdrawal-agreement-fails-romanian-and-bulgarian-workers/
- Bejan, R. (2017, July 31). A 50/50 ball: The East versus the EU in the refugee relocation game. Verfassungsblog.
http://verfassungsblog.de/author/raluca-bejan/. Cross-posted on rabble.ca and LeftEast.
Creative outputs
Exhibits (selected)
- Bejan, R. & Cocan, I. (2022, July). TRACE: Tracing the Space of the Refugee Crisis. [Multi-media exhibit]. ARTHUB, Bucharest, Romania.
https://www.arthubbucharest.ro/category/evenimente/
- Bejan, R., Cocan, I., & Lan, N. (2022, May). TRACE. [Photography exhibit]. CONTACT Photography Festival, Toronto.
https://scotiabankcontactphoto.com/2022/open-call/raluca-bejan-ioan-cocan-trace-tracing-the-space-of-the-refugee-crisis
- Bejan, R., Cocan, I., & Lan, N. (2020, Jan.–Feb.). Tracing the space of the refugee crisis. [Multimedia exhibit]. Beaverbrook Art Gallery and the UNB Art Centre, Fredericton.
https://www.unb.ca/cel/enrichment/art-centre/past-exhibitions/2020-jan-17.html
Book Reviews (selected)
- Bejan, R. (2021). Review of Social Mendelism: Genetics and the politics of race in Germany, 1900-1948, by A. Teicher. Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences, 77(1), 121–123.
https://doi.org/10.1093/jhmas/jrab049
- Bejan, R. (2017). Review of Strangers no more: Immigration and the challenges of integration in North America and Western Europe, by R. Alba and N. Foner. Social Service Review, 91(1), 159–168.
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/691339
- Bejan, R. (2016). Review of Us and them? The dangerous politics of immigration control, by B. Anderson. Transnational Social Review: A Social Work Journal, 6(1–2), 222–225.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21931674.2016.1180878
Media/Radio Coverage (selected):
- Ibrahim, H. (2023, March 2). Unclear whether N.B. employers will face consequences over alleged abuse of foreign workers. CBC New Brunswick.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/new-brunswick-temporary-foreign-worker-abuse-investigation-1.6765856
- CBC Information Morning Saint John with Julia Wright (2023, March 2). Living conditions for temporary foreign workers
https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-28/clip/15969602
- CBC Information Morning Fredericton with Jeanne Armstrong (2023, March 2).
https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-25-information-morning-fredericton/clip/15969589-migrant-workers
- CBC National News-TV (2023, March 1). Temporary foreign workers in seafood plants faced long hours, minimal pay: report.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_eQbktJ220
- CBC News Nova Scotia-TV (2023, March 1). A new report out of a university in Nova Scotia is painting a bleak picture of the lives of temporary foreign workers who come to Canada. https://tfwmaritimes.ca/media.html
- CBC New Brunswick News-TV (2023, March 1). Principle Investigator Raluca Bejan talks with Harry Forestell for the CBC New Brunswick News.
https://tfwmaritimes.ca/media.html
- The Canadian Press (2023, March 1). ‘Unfree labour’: N.B. seafood foreign workers faced awful conditions, study says. Cross-posted: Global News. The Toronto Star. National Post. Yahoo Finance. St. Catherine Standard. Alaska Highway News. Guelph Today. The Record. The Winnipeg Free Press. The Chronicle Journal of the Northwest. Huddle Today.
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2023/03/01/new-brunswick-seafood-foreign-workers-faced-awful-conditions-during-covid-19-study.html
- CTV News TV. (2023, March 1). ‘Unfree labour’: N.B. seafood foreign workers faced awful conditions, study says.
https://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/unfree-labour-n-b-seafood-foreign-workers-faced-awful-conditions-study-says-1.6294021
- Ibrahim, H. (2023, March 1). Foreign workers at N.B. seafood plants face threats, cramped quarters and racism, study finds. CBC New Brunswick.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/tfws-foreign-worker-housing-working-safety-1.6761918
- Jones, L. (2023, March 1). Conditions for migrant workers in New Brunswick seafood industry abusive, dangerous: report. The Globe and Mail.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-migrant-workers-new-brunswick-seafood-conditions/
- CBC Maritime Noon with Bob Murphy (2023, March 1). A researcher at Dalhousie University tells us about her new report into working conditions in NB for temporary foreign workers.
https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-38/clip/15969688
- CBC Information Morning Saint John with Julia Wright (2023, March 1). Migrant worker face tough conditions in NB.
https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-28/clip/15969358
- CBC Information Morning Moncton (2023, March 1). Lobster industry denies abuse of temporary foreign workers, despite calls for better protections.
https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2177914947771
- DAL News. (2023, March 1). Migrant workers describe grim conditions in New Brunswick’s seafood industry.
https://www.dal.ca/news/2023/03/01/migrant-workers-new-brunswick-conditions.html
- Telegraph Journal. (2023, March 1). Feds review ‘disturbing’ report of alleged NB worker abuse.
https://tj.news/telegraph-journal/102071666
- Thévenin, C. (2023, March 1). Des travailleurs étrangers temporaires forcés de vivre dans des conditions difficiles. Acadie Nouvelle.
https://www.acadienouvelle.com/actualites/2023/03/01/les-conditions-de-vie-des-travailleurs-etrangers-temporaires-inquietent/
- Radio-Canada TV (2023, March 1). Mieux protéger les travailleurs étrangers.
https://ici.radio-canada.ca/rdi/24-60/site/episodes/691222/24-60-entrevue-avec-aditya-rao-me-krishna-gagne
- Gaudreau, N. (2023, March, 1). Abus, harcèlement, logements surpeuplés: Des travailleurs étrangers exploités au NB. Radio-Canada.
https://ici.radio-canada.ca/rci/fr/nouvelle/1959740/exploitation-travailleurs-etrangers-temporaires-usine-homard-rapport-nb
- CBC Radio Maritime Connection (2022, Nov.13). How do you think we can protect the rights of temporary foreign workers... and help them become Canadians if that’s what they want. Halifax.
https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-99-maritime-connection/clip/15948377-how-think-protect-rights-temporary-foreign-workers...-help
- CBC Radio InfoMorning (2022, Mar. 31). The problem with the temporary protection for the Ukrainian refugees. Halifax.
- Global News Radio 770 CHQR. (2021, October 7). How Canada compares to welfare states. Calgary.
Global News Radio 770 CHQR.
- Dal News. (2021, June 3). Temporary foreign workers in P.E.I. faced inadequate housing and overcrowding despite pandemic: Study.
https://www.dal.ca/news/2021/06/03/temporary-foreign-workers-in-p-e-i--faced-inadequate-housing-and.html
- Koch, D. (2021, June 3). 17 people to a bedroom: Report describes living conditions for migrant workers. The Telegraph(Moncton).
https://tj.news/story/101578446
- The Guardian PEI. (2021, June 1). “The bosses think that we are their slaves”: P.E.I. report documents crowded housing, “unscrupulous” labour practices for migrant workers.
https://www.saltwire.com/atlantic-canada/news/the-bosses-think-that-we-are-their-slaves-pei-report-documents-crowded-housing-unscrupulous-labour-practices-for-migrant-workers-100594961/
- CBC Radio One P.E.I. (2021, June 1). Interview with Mitch Cormier on temporary foreign workers in P.E.I. Island Morning.
- CBC News. (2021, June 1). Report details poor living conditions, “unscrupulous” practices for P.E.I. migrant workers.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-migrant-worker-report-unsafe-at-home-1.6047995
- Koch, D. (2021, Apr. 5). Province “irresponsible” not to give migrants vaccine priority. The Telegraph (Moncton, NB).
https://tj.news/story/101526585
- Koch, D. (2021, Feb. 6). Prioritize safety of migrant workers, say advocates. The Telegraph (Moncton, NB).
https://tj.news/story/101477847
- CBC PEI. (2020, Nov. 6). Interview – Temporary foreign workers in the Canadian Maritimes. CBC Compass PEI. Television.
https://tfwmaritimes.ca/media.html
- CBC New Brunswick. (2020, Nov. 5). Temporary foreign workers in the Canadian Maritimes. Television.
https://tfwmaritimes.ca/media.html
- Global News. (2020, Oct. 27). Dalhousie University to document impact of COVID-19 on temporary foreign workers.
https://globalnews.ca/news/7424564/coronavirus-dalhousie-university-temporary-foreign-workers/
- CBC Radio One Nova Scotia. (2020, Oct. 8). Temporary foreign workers in the Canadian Maritimes. CBC Information Morning.
https://tfwmaritimes.ca/media.html
- SSHRC News. (2020, June 5). New Dal prof’s award-winning doc depicts different side of refugee crisis.
https://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/society-societe/stories-histoires/story-histoire-eng.aspx?story_id=294
- Gordon Koch, D. (2020, May 30). COVID-19 worker ban reversed way too late. The Telegraph (Moncton, NB).
https://tj.news/times-and-transcript/101275191