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IMER NEWSLETTER NR. 1 2015

Dear all, here is the IMER Bergen newsletter for January and February 2015. Apologies for cross posting. If you want to include something in the next IMER newsletter, please send an e-mail to imer@uni.no (text should be between 50 and 150 words + title and web links)

CONTENT:

IMER NEWS


IMER Lunch seminars spring 2015 - Emerging Urbanities and other seminars

This spring IMER Bergen invites to a series of lunch seminars on the topic of Emerging Urbanities. The seminars are open to all researchers, students and other people interested. Urbanity has been a central foci to the IMER network and a part of our research agenda for several years. In the upcoming seminars we will ask where our contemporary cities are heading. Some of the topics will be planned pluralism, gentrification, urban minority/migrant life, housing segregation, the global in the local, governance in ethnically plural cities, and multicultural youth life in the city.

Program IMER Bergen Spring 2015

Tuesday 17th February - Randi Gressgård – Plural policing and the safety–security nexus in urban governance. http://imer.w.uib.no/event/imer-lunch-randi-gressgard/?instance_id=486 @ UNI Rokkansenteret, Nygårdsgaten 5 Bergen (6. etg.) 12.00 -13.30

Tuesday 3rd March - Susanne Bygnes – Mistillitens migrasjon: Europeisk sør-nord mobilitet i kjølvannet av krisa. http://imer.w.uib.no/event/imer-lunch-susanne-bygnes-mistillitens-migrasjon-europeisk-sor-nord-mobilitet-i-kjolvannet-av-krisa/?instance_id=492 @ UNI Rokkansenteret, Nygårdsgaten 5 Bergen (6. etg.)12.00 -13.30

Friday 13th March - Astrid Ouahyb Sundsbø – Social mixing policies: What You Want and What You Get.  http://imer.w.uib.no/event/imer-lunsj-astrid-ouahyb-sundsbo/?instance_id=496 @ UNI Rokkansenteret, Nygårdsgaten 5 Bergen (6. etg.)12.00 -13.30

Tuesday 28th April:
 - Lisa Kings: Contesting urban management regimes: The rise of urban justice movements in Sweden
 - Vanja Lozic: Problematizing parents, governing troubled youth. http://imer.w.uib.no/event/imer-lunch-lisa-kings-og-vanja-lozic/?instance_id=488 @ UNI Rokkansenteret, Nygårdsgaten 5 Bergen (6. etg.)12.00 -13.30


Tuesday 12th May. Sara Kohne: The experience of change in culturally diverse urban areas. Examples from two districts in Berlin and Oslo. http://imer.w.uib.no/event/imer-lunch-sara-kohne/?instance_id=489 @ UNI Rokkansenteret, Nygårdsgaten 5 Bergen (6. etg.) 12.00 -13.30

Tuesday 26th May: Cindy Horst – Active citizenship in culturally and religiously diverse societies. http://imer.w.uib.no/event/imer-lunch-seminar-cindy-horst/?instance_id=485 @ UNI Rokkansenteret, Nygårdsgaten 5 Bergen (6. etg.)12.00 -13.30

More information about the seminars is to be found in the calendar on our web pages: www.imer.uib.no. Welcome to lunch at IMER next year.


CONFERENCES AND SEMINARS

Women’s religious agency: negotiating secularism and multiculturalism in everyday life

Department of Theology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden, May 7-8, 2015. This workshop is the first of a series of international workshops on the theme “Is secularism bad for women? Women, Religion and Multiculturalism in contemporary Europe” focusing on the relation between the role of religion in women’s lives and gender equality.  This is an important question to debate, given the increased visibility of religion in the globalized world of the 21st century. Read more: http://polislombardia.org/2015/02/06/cfp-womens-religious-agency-negotiating-secularism-and-multiculturalism-in-everyday-life/


International Symposium: Organizing Aging Transnationally and its Social Implications
We are happy to announce the upcoming International Symposium “ Organizing Aging Transnationally and its Social Implications”,” that will take place at the Institute of Education, University of Mainz March 12-13, 2015. Organized by the International Research Cluster Transnational Social Support (TRANSSOS), the symposium focuses on how transnational aging is organized and produced at the level of everyday life worlds as well as of social services and organizations.  Read more: http://transsos.com/no_cache/news/latest-news.html?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=80
 
Partition/Violence/Migration: An International symposium as part of the AHRC Research Network Partitions.
Organised by School of English, Communication and Philosophy, Cardiff University School of English, University of St Andrews 4-5 June 2015, Cardiff University. In what ways is partition violence a form of transitional justice? What is violence’s relationship to democracy and citizenship in partitioned nation-states? In what ways is the violence of the social body a form of political language? How does partition violence reshape gender and sexuality in a new nation? What nuances can the intersection of the frameworks of trauma and partition bring to the study of violence? How can population transfers in partition be theorized? How do notions of migration interact with those of community? What is the relationship between pluralism and migration? How have partition migrations left on-going transformative imprints at both regional and national levels? Examine partition violence/migration and economics. Papers on any aspects related to the main topic is welcome. Please send a 250 word abstract to partitions@cardiff.ac.uk and a brief biographical statement by FEB 6th.  Responses by February 15th. Read more: http://commlist.org/archive/all/2015-all/msg00277.html

SOAS - Nohoudh Muslim Integration Conference 2015
5 -- 6 November 2015 @ Brunei Gallery Lecture Theatre
Deadline for abstracts: 1 April 2015. Britain is a net host country for global migration. This has resulted in great diversity in the languages, faiths, traditions, cultural practices and identities that are represented in the multicultural fabric of British society. Current debate surrounding the issue of integration and the challenges that it presents has brought to the fore the need to re-examine the question of what constitutes an integrated and successful multicultural society. Read more: https://www.soas.ac.uk/soas-nohoudh-muslim-integration-conference/


Call for papers - International conference: Migrant descendants and «homeland returns»: Identity, Belonging and Transnational mobility.

May 21 - 22, 2015. Within migrant and transnational studies, the descendants of migrants often hold complex and ambiguous views of home and identity, resulting in a basic questioning of where these individuals belong. Such complexity and ambiguity is further stressed upon returning to the ancestral homeland. For example, a returning migrant descendant may be confronted with a dramatically changing social-cultural landscape, where their previously imagined ethno-cultural ideals, or those inherited from their parents, imbibed via mass media or gestated during previous short-term visits to the ancestral homeland, may prove to have been non-existent or distortions of present day reality. Consequently, questions of ethno-cultural definitions arise, driven by the multiple relations and negotiations that emerge in the context of migrant return and in the process of maintaining transnational linkages. We are here in the midst of a mobility modality that exists in a new kind of social space, crossing cultural fields that often question previously stable notions. The return itself often ends up challenging, translating, (re)defining, narrating and (re)constructing new meanings of ‘who these individuals are’ in connection to ‘where they are’. Read more: http://plataforma9.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/CFP-ICS_Migrant-Descendants-and-Homeland-Returns.pdf


Call for papers: Im/mobilities: Products and generators of conflict.
PACSA, the EASA network on Peace and Conflict Studies in Anthropology, is pleased to announce its 5th bi-annual meeting, to be held at the Peace Research Institute of Frankfurt.
 Im/mobility is one of the key concepts in contemporary anthropological theorizing. We are interested in exploring phenomena of im/mobility within the context of peace, violence and conflict. Ethnographic research is particularly prone to further insight into the intricacies of im/mobility dynamics. The world is increasingly defined by, and realized in, the movement and circulation of people, goods and ideas across and within different spatial scales. However, the same processes that promote movement and mobility also produce the contrary, namely, immobility, exclusion and disconnection. As changes in access to mobility dramatically affect multiple aspects of life, looking at im/mobility is a promising point of departure to the study of social change. In this PACSA meeting we want to explore, how im/mobilities are central to constellations of power, the creation of identities and the everyday with a focus on the way these processes work within situations of conflict and peace. 5th Bi-annual PACSA meeting - Peace and Conflict Studies in Anthropology 2-4 September 2015 in Frankfurt. Organized in collaboration with the Peace Research Institute of Frankfurt and the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Goethe University Frankfurt. Read more: http://transformations-blog.com/call-for-papers-immobilities-as-products-and-generators-of-conflict/
 
Workshop on Migration, Transnationalism and Catholicism
25 February 2015 @ Middlesex University, Town Hall Committee Room 1. Time: 9am–5.15pm. This workshop will explore the various ways in which contemporary international migration and transnationalism affect Catholicism both as practices and institutionally. The focus is on the diversity of ways in which international migration makes an impact: as individual faithful bring their religious practices to new contexts; as the faithful in immigrant societies relate to changes due to migration; and, with regard to transnational religious flows and exchanges within the Catholic Church. In relation to an exploration of the ways in which the practices of the faithful are affected by migration and transnationalism, it is also pertinent to ask, how Catholicism institutionally, whether in the Vatican, at bishop conference or diocese or parish level, is impacted by migration and transnationalism, and how the Catholic Church as an institution responds. The geographic scope of the theme is explicitly global, and perspectives beyond the Global South to Global North movement of migrants are necessary. Furthermore, the global religious landscape is also changing, and there are interesting comparisons to be drawn for example between the ways in which migration and transnationalism may affect Catholic and Pentecostal parishes as well as the individual faithful in particular geographic contexts. Read more: http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/migration-transnationalism-and-catholicism-tickets-15550371580     


REMESO Graduate School - Linköping University, Sweden
Courses for Swedish and International PhD and MA Students

1) Theories and Politics of International Migration: Understanding the Mediterranean Migration Crisis
30 March-1 May, 2015. On-Campus week 13-17 April, 2015
Course Directors: Professor Peo Hansen and Associate Professor Branka Likic-Brboric
The course explores theoretical and empirical aspects of international migration and it’s multidimensional character at different levels (e.g. global, regional, national and local) —including the issues of migrant incorporation, multiculturalism and integration. Deadline March 9, 2015

2) International Migration, Ethnicity and Gender: Intersectional Perspectives on Labour, Power, and Citizenship
4 May-5 June, 2015. On-Campus week 18 -22 May
Course directors: Research Fellow Anna Bredström and Professor Diana Mulinari, Univ. of Lund. This course draws on a variety of theoretical approaches to explore the centrality of gender at different levels of the migration process. It pursues an intersectional analysis of migration and focus on how articulations of class, ethnicity, gender/sexuality and generation shape the experiences of migrants across Europe. Deadline April 13, 2015


3) Migration and Labour:
 5 October-6 November 2015, On Campus week 19-24 October
Course Directors: Professor Charles Woolfson, Associate Professors Branka Likic-Brboric and Zoran Slavnic.This course provide an understanding of the barriers to decent work and protected labour standards in the global and European economy. Empirically, it examines the wider political economy of neo-liberalism, especially in the context of post-communist societies. Deadline September 14, 2015

4) Introduction to Research Methods in Ethnic and Migration Studies
16 November - 18 December, 2015. On-Campus week 30 November - 4 December. Course Director: Associate Professor Zoran Slavnic
This course provides an introduction to research methods in studies on ethnic relations, diversity, migration, discrimination, racism and social inclusion/exclusion. The aim is to develop a critical approach and to explore solutions to some of the major methodological dilemmas. Deadline October 26, 2015

Read more:
http://www.isv.liu.se/remeso/remeso-graduate-school?l=en&sc=true


Metropolis Professional Development (MPD) offers week-long exchanges on managing migration and integration among no more than 25 professionals from government, international organizations, and civil society. Our discussions, led by an international group of experts, enhance our collective understanding of contemporary migration and integration, their geo-political, economic, and demographic contexts, and elicit best practices for their management. Registration is now open for the next session to be held in New York, USA March 2-7. Please visit the website for more details: http://www.carleton.ca/metropolis/metropolisprofessionaldevelopment/



PhD Summer School in Social Sciences at University of Oslo, 2015.
The most helpful thing you can do for us, is to forward this announcement to any PhD program facilitator at your university or research institution that might be of help informing other PhD students. The Oslo Summer School in Comparative Social Science Studies provides several PhD research courses that aim to cover all of the academic disciplines within the social sciences. FURTHER INFORMATION AND ONLINE APPLICATION FORM: http://www.sv.uio.no/oss/index.html OSLO SUMMER SCHOOL IN COMPARATIVE SOCIAL SCIENCE STUDIES 2015: PhD Courses 20 - 24 July 2015:


International UNITED Conference "Overcome all borders: UNITED against Intolerance"
Near Malaga, Spain, 4-9 May 2015. This conference is prepared by:

* Movimiento Contra la Intolerancia (E )
* Popular Action Against Impunity (E)
* National Integration Centre - Society Integration Foundation (LV)
* No Borders Project - Social Action Center (UA)
* One World Association - SCI Poland - St. Jeden Swiat (PL)
* Vereinigung Verfolgten des Naziregimes - Bundesgeschaftsstelle (D)
* ZARA - Zivilcourage und Antirassismus Arbeit (A)
* UNITED for Intercultural Action

All information and the e-nomination form can be found on the UNITED website: If your organisation is interested to nominate a representative, please fill the online expression of interest form as soon as possible (deadline 1 March 2015).


PUBLICATION OPORTUNITIES

Open call for papers YOUNG (Nordic Journal of Youth Research) Reconstituting Race in Youth Studies: Special Edition.
The relationship between youth and race is undergoing significant social change. Many urban centres are becoming more ethnically diverse and youthful. Youth culture has been digitally globalised and new forms of marginalisation and racialisation have arisen. Despite this, in the last fifteen years there has been relatively little empirical work conducted in youth studies on how race and youth are being reconstituted. Read more:
http://weekscentreforsocialandpolicyresearch.wordpress.com/2014/09/23/reconstituting-race-in-youth-studies-special-edition-open-call-for-papers-young-nordic-journal-of-youth-research/


Call for a special issue of Surveillance & Society: »Race, Ethnicity and Surveillance"
Edited by:  Simone Browne, University of Texas at Austin sbrowne@austin.utexas.edu. Ronak K. Kapadia, University of Illinois at Chicago ronak@uic.edu. Katherine McKittrick, Queen’s University k.mckittrick@queensu.ca. Since its emergence, surveillance studies has been concerned with how and why populations are tracked, profiled, policed and governed at borders, in cities, at airports, in public and private spaces, in databases, through biometrics, CCTV, identification documents, social media and other technologies. Also explored are the many ways that those who are subject to surveillance adopt, endorse, invite, subvert, resist, innovate, limit, comply with and monitor that very surveillance. As an interdisciplinary field of study the questions that shape surveillance studies center on the management of everyday and exceptional life – personal data, privacy, security, and terrorism, for example. Read more: http://library.queensu.ca/ojs/index.php/surveillance-and-society/announcement/view/100


POSTITIONS

Postdoktor ved Uni Research Rokkansenteret
Ved Uni Research Rokkansenteret er det ledig en midlertidig 100 % stilling som postdoktor knyttet til prosjektet Parenting Cultures and Risk Management in Plural Norway. Søknadsfrist 15. februar. Les mer: http://www.jobbnorge.no/ledige-stillinger/stilling/109146/postdoktor-ved-uni-research-rokkansenteret.


Chair in Social Research migration/ethnicity/citizenship - University of Bristol
One of the priority areas is migration/ethnicity/citizenship, in which we have a long established research reputation and did very well in the recent REF.  Application deadline 15th of March. Details of the post are at: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/jobs/find/details.html?nPostingID=2849&nPostingTargetID=10238&option=28&sort=DESC&respnr=1&ID=Q50FK026203F3VBQBV7V77V83&Resultsperpage=10&lg=UK&mask=uobext.

PUBLICATIONS


Anita H. Fábos and Riina Isotalo (eds). Managing Muslim Mobilities: Between Spiritual Geographies and the Global Security Regime. New York and Oxford: Palgrave Macmillan 2014
This volume addresses forced migration and mobility in the Muslim world. It explores the tensions between Muslim religious conceptions of space and place and new policies of "migration management" and secure borders. Read more: http://www.palgrave.com/page/detail/managing-muslim-mobilities-anita-häusermann-fábos/?K=9781137434869


Thijl Sunier and Nico Landman - Transnational Turkish Islam
Palgrave Macmillan December 2014
Transnational Turkish Islam provides a state of the art portrait of the Turkish Islamic infrastructure in seven European countries. The book analyses how the Turkish Islamic organizational landscape has developed over the course of time against the background of three major changes: the transformation of Turkish Muslims from migrants to permanent residents in Europe, the rooting of Islam in Europe, and the societal and political changes in Turkey in the past decades. These changes impact the way Turkish Muslims organize locally, nationally and transnationally. Turkish Islamic organizations today act not just on a national level, but are embedded in a transnational field. The authors take critical issue with the assumption that Islam in Europe should be cut off from its roots and forced into a national model. They argue that maintaining transnational networks is not in contradiction with rooting in the local society. Read more: http://www.palgrave.com/page/detail/transnational-turkish-islam-thijl-sunier/?isb=9781137394224


Erich Kolig - Freedom of Speech and Islam
Ashgate, 2014

Freedom of speech and expression is considered in the West a high public good and an important social value, underpinned by legislative and ethical norms. Its importance is not shared to the same extent by conservative and devout Muslims, who read Islamic doctrines in ways seemingly incompatible with Western notions of freedom of speech. Featuring experts across a spectrum of fields within Islamic studies, Freedom of Speech and Islam considers Islamic concepts of blasphemy, apostasy and heresy and their applicability in the modern world. Read more: http://www.ashgate.com/isbn/9781472424020


Sindre Bangstad - The Politics of Mediated Presence:
Exploring The Voices of Muslims in Norway´s Mediated Spheres
Spartacus, 2014.

An important contribution to the literature on freedom of expression, the public sphere and Muslim minorities in Europe. The increased public presence and visibility of Muslims in Europe has long been seen by many Europeans as a challenge to hegemonic conceptions concerning the secular nature of modern public spheres. In Norway, the past decade has seen an increase in the number of young, often well-educated and highly articulate «second-generation» Muslim youth engaging in public, controversial and highly mediatised debates on Islam, Muslims, immigration and integration. This monograph is based on five years ethnographic research on the experiences of young individuals of Muslim background active in Norway’s mediated public spheres, and the mainstream liberal media editors who have provided them with access to these spheres. Read more: http://www.spartacus.no/index.php?ID=Bok&ID2=806
 

 
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