IMER NEWSLETTER

Monday, 26 march 2007

Newsletter Nr. 3 / 2007

Content:

• Call for workshop proposals: The 14 Nordic Migration Researchers Conference
• IMER/Bergen ‘Exploring Diversity’-seminar: Diane Oatley, 28th March
• Nordic Africa Days: Call for workshop-papers
• EURODIV Call for Papers: Diversity in cities: Visible and invisible walls”, 11-12 Sept.07, London, UK
• EUROFOR Marie Curie Conference: European and National Agencies Dealing with the”Non-Accepted”
• Call for Papers: International conference on Social Statistics and Ethnic Diversity.
• University of Warwick: MA course in Islam in Contemporary Societies starting October 2007
• Culcom-seminar: Urmila Goel 16/04
• Odysseus Academic Network: EU Law and Policy on Immigration and Asylum
• The 2nd Summer School on Development on ‘Inequality, Growth and Human Development’
• Publications

Call for workshop proposals:

The 14 Nordic Migration Researchers Conference

‘“Borders and Boundaries”

Time:	14-16 November 2007
Place:	Bergen, Norway

Call for Workshop proposals

The 14th Nordic Migration Researcher Conference will be hosted by IMER/Unifob Global at the University of Bergen. The theme for the Nordic Migration Researcher Conference points to issues of sovereignty, demarcation, distinction, exclusion and discrimination, but also to issues of transience, communication across distinction, and acceptance. Aspects of ‘the global turn’ and the Europeanization of Europe, not least as manifest in migration and migrant populations, have brought border and boundary issues to the forefront not only in social science and humanities scholarship, but also placed them with exceptional prominence on the political agenda.

The conference will be organized in plenaries, subplenaries, and workshops.
For each of the three days, the plenaries will focus around a specific topic. The following topics have been defined:

Transnationalism and the relevance of borders

Specifically, the relevance of state/European borders in our attempts to understand migratory movements and migrant population ‘integration’. What reshapings of the sovereignty regimes do we see, and why? Do we see a development towards a sociology of mobility? Or do we see a re-nationalization within Europe? Borders, boundaries and identity construction are crucial issues here.

*Jonathon Moses, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway
*John Urry, Lancaster University, UK

Mobility and gender

Increasingly, there has been a stronger and much needed focus on gender within studies in international migration and ethnic relations. This plenary will deal with, and tie together, some ways in which gender constructions are tied to imaginaries of community, and gendered distinctions in agency and the quality of life;

Speakers:
*Uli Linke, Rochester Institute of Technology, USA
*Laura Augustin, School of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Liverpool, UK

Globalizing idioms and human rights

Increasingly, globalizing and essentializing idioms, especially religious and ethnic ones, have been seen as major impediments to reasoned resolutions to conflicts and controversies. These idioms have been largely contrasted with human rights perspectives. The plenary will explore these issues, with particular attention also to the essentializing dimensions in the human rights discourses.

Speakers:
*Anne Norton, University of Pennsylvania, USA
*Michael Ignatieff, University of Toronto, Canada (confirmation pending)

The Organizers welcome proposals for sub-plenaries and workshops. The sub-plenaries will generally be short lectures, intended to be of interest to a set of workshops. Proposals to arrange workshops are welcome. In addition, the organisers will arrange workshops so that all participants who want to give workshop contributions will have an opportunity to do so.

Submission of abstracts: 15th June
Submission of workshop proposals and subplenaries: 1st April

Abstracts will only be accepted through online submission. (will open soon)
Workshop proposals can be directed to Kjersti Skjervheim

For questions about the academic program contact Knut Hidle or Yngve Lithman

For general queries, comments or proposals please contact Kjersti Skjervheim

For more information please visit the conference web page

Electronic registration form for online submission of papers and registration will open soon.

IMER / Unifob Global (bergen) – Exploring Diversity Seminars:

Diane Oatley

Time:	Wednesday 28.03 2007, 16.00-18.00
Place:	Seminar room, Unifob Global, (Stein Rokkans Hus, 5th floor), Bergen.

“Divinity quivers boldly in debasement: the ambiguous potency of Oriental Dance”

A presentation of the Egyptian dance form raqs al-sharqi (“belly dance”), and its inherent potential to subvert and transcend traditional perceptions of the feminine body and sexuality, as well as to destabilise received notions regarding the Oriental other. The dance’s link with sexuality and the feminine body is held as offering not only access to the divine in a manner that transcends a dualist perception of spirituality/the body, but also as being responsible for raqs al-sharqi’s ill repute. This contradiction is not sought contained or undone; instead the potency of the dance is held as also stemming from this very ambiguity.

Diane Oatley has a MA in Comparative Literature from the University of Oslo. Expressions of the body have been a consistent theme of her dance criticism and other writings, the latter in the form of essays, criticism and poetry published in a wide range of newspapers, periodicals and anthologies in Norway, and internationally. Current projects include research and dance studies in Flamenco.

See also Imer’s webpages

Nordic Africa Days:

Call for workshop-papers

“Restrictions and Possibilities. The Media in Discourses of Migration, Citizenship and Belonging in Africa”

The workshop is convened by the Researcher Network on Media, Communication and Popular Culture in Africa during the Nordic Africa Days to be held at the Nordic Africa Institute in Uppsala, Sweden, 5 – 7 October 2007.

If you have additional questions about the workshop, please contact Hilde Arntzen.

EURODIV Call for Papers:

Diversity in cities: Visible and invisible walls

Time:	11-12 September 2007
Place:	London, UK

Organised by the Department of Anthropology, University College London (UCL)
Supported by the Marie Curie Series of Conferences “EURODIV – Cultural diversity in Europe: A series of Conferences”

Diversity is a key feature of European societies. European integration, global migrations, the ageing of the population, and changing gender roles have shed light on diversity and put it on the agenda. EURODIV organises a set of conferences on the understanding of diversity and its dynamics through an interdisciplinary and cross-national approach.

The third EURODIV Conference takes the social arena as the unit of analysis of cultural diversity. Focusing on cities, it studies the interaction between urban space, the dynamics of identity formation, the construction of cross-cultural relationships and the emergence of cultural dialogue. The Conference provides an opportunity for diversity scholars to discuss the state-of-the-art of research and to envisage possible alternative scenarios of research specifically within European contexts.

The Conference is organised under the auspices of the Marie Curie Series of Conferences “EURODIV: Cultural Diversity in Europe: a Series of Conferences” (MSCF-CT-2004-516670). Its main objective is to bring together researchers in the first years of their research career (see below for details) to exchange knowledge in a spirit of mutual learning. Leading diversity scholars will be invited to introduce the topics of the Conference.

The local organisers are Prof. Sandra Wallman and Prof. Susanne Kuechler, from UCL Department of Anthropology. For more information on this Conference, the past two Conferences and forthcoming events please visit the EURODIV web site

EUROFOR Marie Curie Conference:

European and National Agencies Dealing with the ”Non-Accepted”

Time:	14-17 Desember 2006
Place:	Berlin, Germany

The European Research Forum on Migration and Ethnic Relations (EUROFOR) will be holding a conference in Berlin on the different approaches of state agencies and NGOs to enhancing the “efficiency” of migration flow management, with particular focus on resettlement and return. The conference will also serve as a forum for discussion of the ethical dimensions of social research, as well as of the responsibilities of migration researchers.

Contact: conferences@emz-berlin.de

Call for Papers:

International conference on Social Statistics and Ethnic Diversity

The main objective of the International conference on Social Statistics and Ethnic Diversity: Should we count, how should we count and why? is to establish links between the production, analysis, uses and interpretation of social statistics related to ethnic diversity.

The Conference aims to encourage international exchanges in order to document the diversity of situations, namely: the experience of countries of immigration (Canada, the United States, Australia, etc.), the European experience and the experience of countries of the South (Africa, Latin America, Asia, etc.).
The Conference also aims to generate debate between the many different actors involved: organizations that produce statistics, researchers and users (including civil society, in particular NGOs involved in anti-discrimination activities).

Deadline submissions of proposals May 1st, 2007.

For detailed information please see the conference web pages

University of Warwick:

MA course in Islam in Contemporary Societies starting October 2007

The MA course is convened by the Centre for Research in Ethnic Relations in the School of Health and Social Studies and involving the School of Law, Department of Politics and International Studies, and the Language Centre at the University of Warwick. The course includes three core modules:

Issues of Islam in Contemporary Societies
Introduction to Islamic Law
Political Economy and International Politics of the Islamic World

More information on this course can be found at the University of Warwick’s web pages

Please general inquiries contact Caroline Oakman

Culcom-seminar:

Urmila Goel 16/04

‘Arranged marriages’ – Dealing with racist and heterosexist discourses in Germany.

Klikk her for Culcom’s seminarprogram for våren 2007

Odysseus Academic Network:

EU Law and Policy on Immigration and Asylum

– Odysseus Academic Network organizes the annual Summer School on Immigration and Asylum Policy of the European Union at the University of Brussels on 2-13 July 2007. For more information click here

-Odysseus Academic Network organizes a one-year certificate course aimed at the acquisition of an in-depth knowledge of European Law on Immigration and Asylum in order to train genuine specialists in this developing branch of Community law. For more information click here

Click here for general information on the Odysseus Academic Network

The 2nd Summer School on Development on ‘Inequality, Growth and Human Development’:

2007 Summer School on “Inequality, Growth and Human Development” organized by Unicredit Foundation, the University of Florence and the European Development Network (EUDN).

Time:	1-6 July 2007
Place:	Civita Castellana (Viterbo)

The Summer School will provide an advanced training to some 20 young academics, PhD students or middle level practitioners from developing and advanced countries with specific academic training, experience and interest in topic of the summer school. The Summer School is fully financed and will be held in Civita Castellana (about an hour from Rome) between 1 and 6 July 2006. On-line and paper applications (see below) should be submitted by 15 April, and those accepted will be notified by 11 May 2007.

publications:

Søholt, Susanne(2007)”Gjennom nåløyet- en sammenligning av tilpasninger til boligmarkedet blant hushold av pakistansk, tamilsk og somalisk bakgrunn, Oslo 1970 – 2003” Dr.polit. avhandling i statsvitenskap ved Universitetet i Oslo.

Kuusela, Kirsti og Sand, Sigrun(red.)(2007)”Introduksjon og integrasjon: om arbeid med flyktninger og innvandrere i norske og svenske kommuner.” Oplandske Bokforlag.

T.O. Engen, L.A. Kulbrandstad og E.M. Syversen.(2007) ”Monokultur og Multikultur: Nasjonsbyggende diskurser 1905-2005”. Oplandske Bokforlag.

Bredal, Anja. Skjerven, Lill Salole. (2007) “Tvangsekteskapssaker i hjelpeapparatet offentliggjort. Omfang og utfordringer.” Senter for kvinne- og kjønnsforskning, Universitetet i Oslo.

Rapporten er utarbeidet på oppdrag fra Barne- og likestillingsdepartementet og inngår i departementets arbeid med å kartlegge omfanget av tvangsekteskap i Norge for å kunne styrke hjelpetilbudet og forebyggende tiltak. Prosjektet har søkt å kartlegge omfanget av tvangsekteskapssaker og relaterte problemer i noen deler av hjelpeapparatet, samt beskrive noen sentrale aspekter ved sakene og ved hjelpeapparatets håndtering av dem. Fokus er på årene 2005 og 2006. Last ned rapporten i pdf-format

Ada Engebrigtsen & Øivind Fuglerud. ”Ungdom i flytningfamilier. Familie og vennskap – trygghet eller frihet?” Nova Rapport 03/06

Kirsten Danielsen & Marie Louise Seeberg(red.) “Tracing UMAs´ families. A comparative study of some European countries´ practices and experiences in tracing the parents or caregivers of unaccompanied minor asylum seekers.” NOVA Rapport 19/06

Ung i Oslo. Levekår og sosiale forskjeller. NOVA Rapport 6/07

Kvinner og arbeid – Utfordringer for kvinner med innvandrerbakgrunn IMDI-rapport 3-2007. Last ned rapporten

International migration 2005/2006 – Sopemi-report for Norway

Noreg sender kvart år ein rapport til OECD – Organisasjonen for økonomisk samarbeid og utvikling. Rapporten, International Migration 2005-2006, er eit bidrag til OECD sitt felles rapporteringssystem for migrasjonsutviklinga i medlemslanda, kalla SOPEMI. Den siste rapporten dekkjer 2005 og mykje av 2006. Rapporten er utgitt av Arbeids- og inkluderingsdepartementet. Last ned rapporten

Harris_Christensen, Helene.(2006)“Kirkeasyl i grenseland : lokal erfaring med kirkeasyl som territorialitet.” Masteroppgave i Samfunnsgeografi, Universitetet i Bergen