Bringing Migration and History into the Equation: Re-Imagining Nationhood and Belonging

Conference venue:  Berlin (Germany)
Period: Oct. 5 - 7, 2011
Deadline for submitting abstracts: Jun. 30, 2011
Deadline for submitting full papers: Sep. 25, 2011

Migration poses challenges to European societies as we know them today; indeed, the inclusion of immigrants in these societies has become a controversial issue in most European countries.

Both of these statements are reflected in ongoing debates in numerous European countries. All too often, immigrants are seen as "Others" when it comes to constructing national cohesion and patterns of belonging and identity. The "Othering" of immigrants, perhaps best seen as a process of social construction and engineering, is closely interrelated with social, economic, linguistic and, increasingly, religious questions.

However, immigrant inclusion and exclusion cannot be regarded without reference to historical, cultural and symbolic questions. Thus the analysis of identity formation and collective identities in multiethnic societies brings the political scope of identity politics, historical representations and national narratives to the fore. It entails theoretical and practical questions of (newly) constituting nationhood and transcultural belonging, as well as re-positioning ethnic/migrant minorities in the public sphere.

This conference, Bringing Migration and History into the Equation: Re-Imagining Nationhood and Belonging, will address this intersection of migration, identity formation and belonging from comparative and historical perspectives. The emphasis will be on the intersection of history, politics and commemorative practices/strategies. Case studies as well as theoretical contributions are welcome. We invite the submission of papers on the following topics:

Contributions may be either (longer) academic papers or (shorter) input statements for roundtables, focused on innovative and relevant topics.
 
Submissions of abstracts (max. 600 words) and a short biographical note (not more than two pages) including a list of (selected) publications. Please indicate if you intend to give a full paper or wish to participate in a roundtable.

Netzwerk Migration in Europa e. V.
Limonenstr. 24
12203 Berlin
tel.: 0049.30.212.80792
fax: 0049.30.841.09268
e-mail: info@network-migration.org