23/03/2017 Conference: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Discrimination in the Context of Migration and Mobility

Conference. Neuchatel , 23 – 24 March 2017

The notion of discrimination is widely discussed in the context of migration and mobility. However, definitions and understandings of discrimination vary as do methods used to identify or measure discrimination. While legal scholars draw on narrow definitions social scientists or economists tend to employ a broader understanding of discrimination. Varying meanings and applications of the term discrimination can lead to misunderstandings and parallel debates. For this reason, there is a need for interdisciplinary exchange, which highlights the implications of commonalities and ambiguities in understandings and uses of discrimination. This two-day conference brings together researchers from different academic disciplines to discuss the meaning and use of the concept of discrimination and to shed light on different methods employed to study discrimination. Various levels of analysis will be considered, including institutional discrimination, discrimination in interpersonal interaction and intergroup settings as well as discrimination at the level of public representation. The aim is to create the basis for a more comprehensive understanding of discrimination across disciplines, including but not limited to Economics, Legal Studies, Social Sciences and Philosophy. To this end the conference seeks to combine an overview of different understandings and methodological approaches to discrimination with the discussion of case studies on instances of ethnic and racial, religious and gender discrimination. The conference addresses researchers with a strong interest in interdisciplinary work. We invite submissions focusing on ethnic and racial, religious and gender discrimination in contexts of migration and mobility. Using an example from your own research, the proposed paper, should address the following questions: – How does discrimination feature in the research undertaken? – Which concepts of and approaches to discrimination are used? – To what extent does the study reflect certain perspectives and opinions or debates? – What methods are used to study ethnic, racial, religious or gender-related discrimination? – What are the difficulties and advantages of research across disciplines?

Application Procedure

Applicants are asked to submit a 300-word abstract and a short biography of 200 words until 30 October 2016. Successful applicants will be informed by 30 November 2016. The invited researchers are asked to send their article (5000 – 8000 words, excluding references) by the end of February 2017. The organizers plan to compile an edited book with selected papers. Successful applicants will receive small grants of up to CHF 250 to subsidize travel expenses. Please send your abstract and short bio by e-mail to Eva Zschirnt, eva.zschirnt@unine.ch. Deadline for submission is 30 October 2016.

For further information, please do not hesitate to contact the conveners.

Conveners
Carolin Fischer, Université de Neuchâtel, Maison d’analyse des processus sociaux (MAPS) Stefanie Kurt, Université de Neuchâtel, Centre de droit des migrations (CDM)
Eva Zschirnt, Université de Neuchâtel, Swiss Forum for Migration Studies (SFM)

This conference is organized as part of the National Center of Competence in Research – The MigrationMobility Nexus. nccr-onthemove.ch