Rethinking Migration. New glances on Migration/s.

Tid: 29 - 30 september 2009
Plats: University of Graz, Austria
Arrangör: The research group Migration at the Centre for Cultural Studies (University of Graz, Austria)

"The research group Migration at the Centre for Cultural Studies (University of Graz, Austria) invites submission of abstracts (3000 char. incl. space) for the Research Workshop "Rethinking Migration. New glances on Migration/s"  in September 2009.

Certain theoretical approaches towards phenomena of migration tend to result in specific focusses, which are fostering certain issues and problems as well as hiding others. This research workshop is based on the assumption that the dominance of social sciences in Migration Studies still is supporting concepts of multiculturalism. Hence, seemingly static identities (ethnical, religious, gender, class or others) and binary structured images ("push" vs. "pull") persist.

New approches dealing with concepts such as hybridity, transition, diaspora oder community, gender, intersectionality, postcolonial, subaltern studies etc. challenge these perceptions: migrations become visible beyond teleological conceptions. Thus current approaches emphasise decentral characteristics (e.g. in biographies), not only when speaking about migratory experience. Consequently transnationality, transculturalism and multilingualism are considered to be the norm - fragmented lifes in transition and similar perceptions of space and frontiers are no longer marginalised.

The aim of the planned research-workshop is to discuss current approaches on migratory movements in historical as well as present perspectives and to examine possibilities and limits of different migration theories. The workshop is open to any research-projects  on migration/s (done in teams or by individuals), PhD-students as well as Post-Docs are invited to outline their position within current theoretical debates on migration in short presentations (app. 20 min) or posters.

The following themes are to be dealt with (among others):

-- Cultural representation of migration/s (imagination/narrative invention of "migrants" and their communties, (gendered) discourses, visualisation, processes of negotiation and functions of migration discourses)

-- Social practices (plural self-ascriptions, labour and migration, "global division of labour", gendered scopes of action)

-- Participation and empowerment, bureaucratical treatment of migration/s

Proposals from research groups, PhD students (especially teams) as well as Post Doc researchers (for presentations as well as for posters) are welcome to be submitted to stefan.benedik-karner@uni-graz.at

NB! Deadline: June, 10th, 2009"