IMER Bergen 15 year anniversary conference and phd course
En overraskende forskningsferd Yngve Lithman har opplevd både trams, trassel og larmerier av alle slag som leder for IMER gjennom 12 år. Men mest av alt har det vært en intellektuelt overraskende reise. I dag fyller migrasjonssatsingen 15 år. (Intervju med Yngve G. Lithaman i anledning IMER Bergens 15 års jubileum)
De nye jødene Elisabeth Eide tror ikke på at historien gjentar seg selv, men ser likevel mange likhetstrekk mellom 1940-tallet og i dag. Forskjellen er at muslimene er de nye jødene. (Intervju med Elisabeth Eide i anledning IMER Bergens jubileumskonferanse)
Misplaced women On Tuesday November 8 from 13:40 I performed my “Misplaced Women?” at arrivals & departures terminal of Bergen international airport. In approximately 30 minutes time I took out the entire contents of my two suitcases, out of my handbag as well as out of my cosmetics and make-up bags. (Read more and see the photos from the performances in Bergen previous to Tanja Ostojic’s performance lecture at Gallery 3,14)
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International migration and attendant processes of globalization, both as social phenomena and in efforts at theorization, have become especially critical for the development of social theory and analysis, notably by challenging some of the fundamental questions of the social sciences. If one wishes, as Georg Simmel did, to answer the question “How is society possible?”, one cannot take for granted that the relevant object is defined within the parameters of the nationstate, nor by those of ´ethnic groups´ or ´cultures´.
In a recent evaluation report on Norwegian sociology research, it is stated that ´[t]he key question to be explored by sociology today is not, perhaps, how society is possible, but rather how to study social processes and changes at local, national and global levels (Sociological research in Norway: An evaluation, p. 17). Across the social science disciplines, it now seems impossible to imagine place, society and culture without the mobilities of people, goods and information – thus recasting questions exploring e.g. social stratification, scale, space, media and politics.
In its 15 years of existence, IMER Bergen has directed its collaborative efforts towards examining, but also reframing the fundamental questions of the social sciences, as variously defined within particular disciplines. To celebrate this 15th anniversary, we want to put to the forth the contributions that IMER research in Bergen, but also in the wider international scholarly community, has made to the study of society in general, processes of social change and new social formations in particular.
A combination of international and local scholars will in the course of a two day seminar, discuss how IMER researchers deal with issues such as migration, globalization and transnational movements – how they examine ‘culture’, ´politics´, ´space´, ´gender´, ´media´, ´government´ and ´law´ – through the prism of International Migration and Ethnic Relations.
A commitment to provide a strong and creative scholarly environment for students and research recruits has been one of IMER Bergen´s main vocations. In this spirit, the 15th anniversary comprises a PhD course for candidates within the humanities and social sciences. In addition to the main conference, the course component of the conference will be constituted by workshop sessions with essay presentations.
Programme
Wednesday 9 November Anniversary conference. OPEN LECTURE:
Venue: ‘Egget’, Parkveien 1: 10.15-10.30: Official opening with Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Knut Helland, and Director of the Uni Rokkan Centre, Jan Erik Askildsen. 10.30-12.00: • DAVID LEY (University of British Columbia): “Masters of Space, or Prisoners of Space? Locating the Neoliberal Migrant” • YNGVE G. LITHMAN (University of Bergen): ”De-Etatizing Social Science?: “Verstehen” and “Erklärung” in a (somewhat) Flatter Earth”
Chair: Edvard Hviding (Department of Social Anthropology, University of Bergen)
12.15-13.15: Lunch.
Venue: Auditorium, Bergen Resource Centre, Jekteviksbakken 31: 13.15-14.45: • HAKAN G. SICAKKAN (University of Bergen): “The Politics of Diversity, the European Publics, and the European Public Sphere”
• METTE ANDERSSON (University of Bergen): “‘Reflexive Transnationalization’ among Politically Engaged Minority Youth” [Read interview with Mette Andersson in På Høyden 7 November]
Chair: Susanne Bygnes (Department of Sociology, University of Bergen)
14.45-15.00: Coffee break.
15.00-16.30:
• RANDI GRESSGÅRD (University of Bergen): “Equality Equals Hierarchy – the Holistic Foundation of Liberal Ideology and Integration Policy” • BRUCE KAPFERER (University of Bergen): ”The Tamil Crisis: State, War and Peace in Sri Lanka and Shifts in Global Power”
Chair: Kathinka Frøystad (Department of Social Anthropology, University of Bergen)
Thursday 10 November Anniversary Conference. Venue: Auditorium, Bergen Resource Centre, Jekteviksbakken 31:
10.15-11.45:
• CHRISTINE M. JACOBSEN (Uni Research and University of Bergen): “The (not so) New Islamic Presence in Western Europe: Secular Governance and Religious Freedom in a Globalized Era” • ANDRÉ ITEANU (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (C.N.R.S.), Paris): “The Free Noble and the Poor Beggar. What does the Veil Controversy Reveal about French Ideology”
Chair: Synnøve Bendixsen (IMER Bergen and Uni Rokkan Centre)
12.00-13.00: Lunch.
13.00-14.30: • SUSI MERET (University of Aalborg): “Exploring the Social, Political and Cultural Challenges of Right Wing Populism in the Nordic Countries: Comparative Approaches, Developments and Perspectives”
• ELISABETH EIDE (Oslo University College and University of Bergen): “Media Discourses, Migration and Post-22.7-Debates; a Critical Inquiry”
Chair: Elisabeth Ivarsflaten (Department of Comparative Politics, University of Bergen)
14.30-14.45: Coffee break.
14.45-16.30: PANEL DISCUSSION: “The Future of IMER Research”
David Ley (University of British Columbia) Susi Meret (University of Aalborg) Hilde Lidén (Nordic Migration Research and Institute for Social Research, Oslo) Yngve G. Lithman (IMER Bergen and University of Bergen) Mette Andersson (IMER Bergen and University of Bergen) Hakan G. Sicakkan (IMER Bergen and University of Bergen)
Chair: Yngve G. Lithman (IMER Bergen and Department of Sociology, University of Bergen)
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19:00: Performance lecture by artist TANJA OSTOJIC: “Crossing Borders“. Venue: Galleri 3,14. Vågsallmenningen 12. Free entrance. Refreshments will be served. In addition, her project “Misplaced Women? Marking the City” is a series of performances, interventions and delegated performances which will take place in the public space of Bergen previous to the lecture. In collaboration with the International Contemporary Art Foundation 3,14. Friday 11 November PhD course. PhD candidates, please see the Course Site for more information.
Venue: Seminar room, Uni Rokkan Centre, Nygårdsgt. 5, 6th floor. 10:15-16:30: Essay presentations. Conference fee: Nok 500,- for two days (includes lunch) Students: Nok 300,- REGISTRATION to Hanna Skartveit. Still possible to register!
The Conference is organised in collaboration with Uni Rokkan Centre, Dept. of Social Anthropology, Dept. of Sociology, Dept. of Geography, Dept. of Comparative Politics and SKOK, University of Bergen.