Call for Papers - Diasporic and Migrant Identities: Social, Cultural, Political, Religious and Spiritual Aspects

Conference venue: Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Period: April 23-24, 2015
Deadline for submitting abstracts: June 30, 2014
Deadline for submitting full papers: May 31, 2015

Economic, political and forced migration has been present for quite some time in the reality of Balkan Muslims. Wherever they went, they carried the experience of their lives lived at the crossroad of different worlds. Ever since 1960`s, the economic and political migration of Bosniaks has been directed towards Western countries, especially the European ones. Even more so after the signing of framework agreements allowing Yugoslav workers to find temporary jobs in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and Scandinavian countries, but also North America and Australia. During 1990`s the horrors of war in B&H resulted in forced migrations of Bosnian and Herzegovinian population. So far the focus has been more on economic and political dimensions of migrant experience and life, and less so on the social, cultural and religious dimensions. According to Vertovec (2008), there are three dimensions defining religious and cultural determinants of migrants:

1. understanding religious identity/background,
2. existence and relevance of communal organizations/clubs/groups
3. persistence of relationships with the homeland.

When it comes to Balkan Muslims, discussions about “European Islam” are important in this regards as well as their Islamic tradition, integration, contribution and challenges they face, especially in relation to second and third generations. Also, issues of preservation, understanding or transformation of their ethnic and religious identity are important for wider understanding of the conditions in which they live today.

Therefore we would like to open up the floor for dialogue about diasporic and migrant identities and also establish a network of scholars and researchers working on these issues. We are hoping to offer an opportunity for exchange and discussion of ideas, theoretical and empirical findings, as well as methodological approaches focusing on diasporic communities of Bosniaks, Balkan Muslims, but also other communities whose work and experience could be compared to them. Therefore we invite researchers, academic staff, professors, but also post-graduates, PhD candidates, activists and civil society representatives to submit their contributions for this conference.

We welcome contributions covering segments of the following topics:

Prof. dr. Safet Bandžović, Institute for History, University of Sarajevo
Prof. dr. Xavier Bougarel, L'Ecole des haute études en sciences sociales - EHESS (School of Advanced Studies in Social Sciences), Paris
Prof. dr. Samuel Behloul (tbc), Director, Commission of the Swiss Bishops Conference for Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, Fribourg

The conference will host a workshop on “The methodology of Migration Research” (3 hrs) lead by dr. Selma Porobić, director of the Centre for Refugee and IDP Studies (CESI) of the Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Sarajevo. Preference for participation at the workshop will be given to MA and PhD students as well as others aiming to do research in this field.

Selected papers will be published in a peer-reviewed conference proceedings. Official languages of the conference are Bosnian and English. Simultaneous interpretation will be available during the whole conference. There is no conference fee. Food and working materials will be provided for all participants. Additionally accommodation will be provided for speakers.

During the conference, there will be an exhibition space where the conference participants can present their work, activity or research in the form of flyers, brochures, posters,  presentations, etc. If you would like to share the summary of your research, interesting activities or published volumes you are free to do that in this exhibition space. Please state your interest for this in the application.
You can apply for participation at the conference (with all accompanying activities) at the following link: „Application for conference participation“

The conference will host a workshop on “The methodology of Migration Research” (3 hrs) led by dr. Selma Porobić, director of the Centre for Refugee and IDP Studies (CESI) of the Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Sarajevo.

Selected papers will be published in a peer-reviewed conference proceedings. Official languages of the conference are Bosnian and English. Simultaneous interpretation will be available during the whole conference. There is no conference fee. Food and working materials will be provided for all participants. Additionally accommodation will be provided for speakers.

During the conference, there will be an exhibition space where the conference participants can present their work, activity or research in the form of flyers, brochures, posters, presentations, etc.

You can apply for participation at the conference (with all accompanying activities) at the following link: „Application for conference participation“ 

Important deadlines:
Deadline for abstract submission 30.6.2014.
Deadline for applying for participation without paper presentation 1.3.2015.
Deadline for applying for methodological workshop 1.3.2015.
Successful applicants will be notified by 15.7.2014.
Deadline for submission of the paper draft 31.1.2015.
Deadline for submission of the final paper1 31.5.2015.

Institute for Islamic Tradition of Bosniaks
tel.: +38733 570 311
e-mail: info@iitb.ba