Migration, Ethnicisation and the Challenge of Diversity: The "Others" in Europe and Beyond

Venue: Université Libre de Bruxelles, Bruxelles (The Netherlands)
Period: Apr. 28 - 29, 2011

In contemporary Europe, the social tensions and political debates produced by immigration are increasingly linked to issues of belonging and identity. The representation of the foreigner is no longer solely defined by his or her place on the labour market or in the social hierarchy. In light of EU enlargement and due to immigration flows, European societies are increasingly questioning their “cultural and ethnic identity”. As a consequence, boundaries between “insiders” and “outsiders” are being redefined. The “others” in Europe are no longer merely those who do not have state citizenship of one of the member states of the Union. In the new European migration context, “otherness” increasingly refers to ethno-cultural minority groups, regardless of their EU citizenship status.

This conference aims to address the construction of identity classifications underlying new forms of inclusion and exclusion that are to be found in contemporary Europe, and beyond. Its scope covers practices of categorization and of resistance, both by majority and minority groups. Anthropologists, social psychologists, sociologists, political scientists and law scholars will meet to discuss the categorization of identity groups through legal and social norms, public policies, institutional practices, social interactions and representations, as well as actors’ mobilizations.

Confirmed speakers include:
John Berry (Queen’s University, Kingston)
David B. Oppenheimer (University of California, Berkeley)
Pap Ndiaye (EHESS, Paris)
Nicole Grégoire (ULB)
Dirk Jacobs (ULB)
Bernd Simon (Christian-Albrechts-University, Kiel)
Alejandra Alarcon (ULB)
Alejandro Portes (Princeton University, Princeton)
Emmanuelle Bribosia (ULB)
Isabelle Rorive (ULB)
Virginie Guiraudon (Sciences Po Paris)
Francois Crépeau (McGill University, Montréal)
Christian Joppke (American University of Paris)
Kees Groenendijk( Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen)
Yves Pascouau (ULB)
Rinus Penninx (Universiteit van Amsterdam)
Saskia Bonjour (ULB)
Andrea Rea (ULB)

Registration for all participants is obligatory. the Registration fee - 20€ per day – must be paid upon arrival at the conference. Registration is free for ULB students. To register, kindly send an e-mail specifying your name, institutional affiliation and contact details to germe@ulb.ac.be.

e-mail: germe@ulb.ac.be.