Paper submissions are accepted for the one-day Migration Research Unit (MRU) Student Conference 2016 ‘Moving Beyond Borders: Comparative Perspectives on Refuge’ on Friday 3 June, 10.00-18.00 in London. If you wish to present your paper at the conference and be part of an interactive workshop or panel, please submit a 300 word abstract by Tuesday 1 March to geog.migrationconference@ucl.ac.uk.
Everyone at Maastricht University is invited to join a one-day conference organised by a team of graduate students in collaboration with UCL’s Migration Research Unit. The conference aims to encourage a broad discussion between students and researchers from various disciplinary backgrounds. The conference will provide an opportunity to engage with the complex and pertinent set of issues through a series of panel discussions, seminars and interactive workshops.
To address the three overarching aims of the conference, we invite undergraduate, graduate and PhD/Postdoc students to submit papers that explore topics along the following questions:
1. Analyse and question the use of the term ‘refugee crisis’:
· To what extent is the use of the term ‘refugee crisis’ appropriate? How and why can it be framed in terms of (failed) protection or securitization?
· Can we talk of a refugee ‘crisis’ or should we talk of ‘crises’?
· What temporal implications does the use of the word ‘crisis’ have in framing responses to contexts of displacements?
2. Explore the ways in which the state, media, and public impact refugee reception and how the reception is negotiated by refugees themselves:
· How and why do state and non-state actors’ responses differ across the EU?
· How are migration processes portrayed by the media across the Member States and how does this affect the public and policy responses? What role do different methodological approaches play in the discourse on refugee reception?
· How can alternative approaches to research (e.g. mixed methods, use of visual and audio data) enhance our understanding of refuge?
· How do refugees themselves negotiate the circumstances of their reception?
· How does agency and structure inform refugee integration?
3. Contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the current EU refugee crisis by drawing on other past and contemporary contexts of displacement around the world:
· To what extent is the current migration process in the EU comparable to other historical or international situations of displacement?
· How has the development and interpretation of international legal frameworks on human rights influenced responses to contexts of displacement and vice versa?
· How has the inclusion of ethics in research on refuge evolved over time?
Submission of papers: If you wish to present your paper at the conference and be part of an interactive workshop or panel, please submit a 300 word abstract by March 1, 2016. Please also provide us with a short bio. Papers from any discipline or professional background are welcome. You should be prepared to present for around 20-30 minutes.
Please note that participants who require a visa to attend the conference in the UK will have to arrange this independently.
Please submit your papers and direct all questions to our team via geog.migrationconference@ucl.ac.uk
More information: http://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/ucl-migration-conference/#.VrNjSceuGm4
Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/mrustudentconference2016/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel
