Venue: University of Plymouth
Date: 12th-13th July 2018
Conference abstract
Discussions of migration and mobilities feature prominently in our everyday lives. The often competing discourses debated by politicians and the media regarding the movement of people, of products and services, of resources and pollution, of ideas and beliefs have greatly influenced the ways in which people consider and contest notions of distance, proximity, territory and belonging and the (in)equitability involved in this. Within the academy, the rapidly changing shape of the world in terms of governance, finance, resources, war, terrorism etc. has encouraged migration and mobilities experts to challenge the theories and concepts we employ to explore, interpret and evaluate movement at a range of spatial and temporal scales to respond to a myriad of societal changes.
The first International Migration and Mobilities conference at Loughborough University in July 2016 successfully created a space through which these patterns and processes of migration and mobilities could be interrogated by drawing together scholars from across both fields to cultivate and share new ideas. Through the second conference in this series we build upon these themes and seek to draw these fields even closer to explore more critically how the intersections between migration and mobilities might contribute towards new understandings of contemporary societal debates through an interdisciplinary lens.
This two-day conference will be broadly organised around the themes of:
- Theoretical and conceptual understandings of / interconnections between migration and mobility studies;
- Methodological approaches for researching migration and mobilities;
- Scales of migration and mobilities and the impact upon borders and boundaries;
- Experiencing migration and mobilities through embodied performances – of ‘being mobile’;
- The politicization of migration and mobilities that (de)enable / (dis)empower;
- The role of intersectionality in migration and mobility that might affect the ability to move equitably (e.g. age, gender, class, religion, sexuality, ethnicity race etc.);
- The role of community and belonging in critiquing the categorisations associated with migration and mobilities (e.g. Diaspora, (home)lands, (dis)connections and the search for belonging);
- The role of structural actors in shaping and managing migration and mobilities (e.g. governments, cities, institutions, industries, agencies etc.).
Submitting abstracts: Please can participants submit abstracts that are between 150-200 words long for the paper and poster sessions. We also welcome participants that wish to propose workshop sessions and these will require abstracts of 300-400 words that outline:
- the type of workshop
- the anticipated group size(s) – i.e. is there a minimum/maximum number of participants required?
- the aims and objectives of the session
- the activities that will be covered during the session
- any special requirements, for example equipment, room layout etc.
Informal enquiries regarding workshop proposals can be directed to Dr Mark Holton (mark.holton@plymouth.ac.uk).
Please register your abstract at: www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/Migration_and_Mobilities_2018 before Friday 9th March 2018.
Further details of the conference, including venue, accommodation, transport etc. can be found at: https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/whats-on/2nd-international-conference-on-migration-and-mobilities