Dynamics and Policies of Prejudice from the Eighteenth to the Twenty-first Century

Coordinated by Giuseppe Motta, within the project “Dynamics and Policies of Prejudice” financed by the Department of Documental, Linguistic-Philological and Geographical Sciences.

Language of the conference: English

The topics of the meeting are related to the dynamics and policies of prejudice, and to the study of various phenomena such as racism, antisemitism, prejudice, xenophobia, discrimination, ethnic and national conflicts under historical, political, legal, economic and sociological perspectives. Papers presented at the conference will cover a wide range of matters such as, among others, the dynamics and policies that affected the relationships among states, populations, nationalities, ethnic groups, religious and linguistic minorities and contributed to define the contemporary idea of prejudice in its distinct interpretations and models.
The experience of the great multinational empires, nation-states in modern and contemporary Europe, religious persecutions, relationships between colonialism and local people, ethnic and national conflicts are all topics that could be deepened exploring different variations of prejudice, in order to better understand the way we look at and deal with others.

The works will take into consideration a precise period, from the eighteenth century until recent years, in order to analyze the idea of prejudice and its numerous expressions during the delicate passage from the ancien régime to the creation of the contemporary order, from the reality of multinational empires to that of national states, from a religious-oriented conception of power to a lay form of (democratic or totalitarian) state. A particular focus will be dedicated to antisemitism and religious prejudice, but topics will also include legal and juridical aspects of discrimination, psychological and social elements and, in a general perspective, all the issues that could be framed and analysed within the concepts of racism, antisemitism, prejudice, xenophobia, discriminations, ethnic and national conflicts.

Many questions can be assumed as important directives of the works (What actually is race? How has racism come to be so firmly established? Why do so few people actually admit to being racist? How are race, ethnicity, and xenophobia related?), but only a comprehensive and multi-disciplinary study can provide the necessary evidence and the right suggestions in order to understand the question of prejudice. The comparison of historical phenomena and contemporary trends, the combination of social and historical perspectives and the evaluation of continuity links between the past and the present will contribute to the improvement of the analysis of these problematic issues that have represented a constant factor in European and world history.
The Scientific Board also invites proposals devoted to comparative perspectives on nationalism-related issues, as well as theoretical approaches on the concept of prejudice and discrimination that need not to be framed to any particular geographic region. The Scientific Board welcomes a multidisciplinary approach inviting scholars from different disciplines such as political science, history, anthropology, sociology, international studies, security studies, geopolitics, area studies, economics, geography, sociolinguistics, literature, psychology, and related fields. The Scientific Board encourages the submission of single papers, addressing the above mentioned issues based on a chronological framework, but also innovative and original analyses that could enrich our common knowledge and help the scientific study of such phenomena.
The international conference aims to attract scholars from European and non-European universities, research institutes, independent networks, with a special focus
on young researchers (25-40 years old). Junior researchers, teaching assistants, PhD students are thus warmly invited to submit their paper proposals.

The Scientific Board invites proposals for individual papers to be presented in panels organized by the Board but accepts also entire panels that are to be assembled directly by the proponents. A panel includes a chair and at least three presentations based on written papers. In case of panel proposals, the chair could also be indicated by the conference organizers.

A formal application email should be sent to romeconference2016@uniroma1.it and must include in a single document:
1) contact info
2) up to 300 word abstract
4) a short biographical statement.


The deadline for the submission of paper proposals is March 15, 2016. Incomplete applications will not be accepted.
Applications for papers and for panels should be submitted in a single message. Applicants will be notified about the acceptance of their papers by April 1, 2016, and the conference program will be released in May.


Participants should pay the registration fee by May 20, 2016.
Special rate (reserved for participants under 40 years of age): 50 €
Normal rate: 80 €


In order to encourage the participation of young PhD students, five paper proposals will be chosen by the Scientific Board as particularly relevant and will be exempted from the payment of the participation fee. Selected PhD students will be notified by April 1, 2016. Please note that the registration fee does not include accommodation or travel expenses. Participants are expected to organise and cover the cost for their travel. The conference material, dinner and special gadgets will be provided by the conference organizers.

Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza"
Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma

tel.: (+39) 06 49911
e-mail: romeconference2016@uniroma1.it