Displacement, Resistance, Resistance, Representation: Culture and Power in Contexts of Migrancy

London, United Kingdom | Queen Mary, University of London

The Centre for the Study of Migration is pleased to announce its forthcoming annual conference on Displacement, Resistance, Representation: culture and power in contexts of migrancy on June 28th and 29th 2012 at the David Sizer Lecture Theatre, Francis Bancroft Building, Queen Mary, University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS.

This conference takes its cue from the mobilization of popular modes of resistance witnessed in the course of 2011 both through the Arab Spring and the Occupy movement. Its aim is to connect such mass resistance to wider existing contexts of collective displacement and migrancy. By focusing on cultural representation (understood in the widest sense to include the media and the arts), it seeks to address the role of culture in negotiating resistance and representation for those who have been displaced or cast into migrancy for a variety of reasons that range from the economic to the political to the ecological.

Papers will cover a range of geopolitical contexts and cultural media in order to explore and analyse the ways in which diverse forms of representation help to negotiate displacement.

Attendance is free and all are welcome.

Venue: David Sizer Lecture Theatre, Francis Bancroft Building, Queen Mary, Mile End Campus, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS

>> Please see the attached pdf for more details.

Call for Paper

Proposals for papers are invited on a range of topics of global and comparative focus relating to questions of representation for the displaced.

The following themes are some examples of the questions and issues that will be addressed:

• the role of culture in negotiating displacement
• the role of culture in forging modes of resistance
• the political relevance of cultural representation for the displaced negotiation and empowerment in contexts of displacement

Proposals are invited from academics, postgraduate research students, artists, cultural performers and those working in the areas of culture and migration.

Papers should last no more than 20 minutes.

Abstracts and a brief bio-data of 250 words should be sent to Professor Parvati Nair (p.nair@qmul.ac.uk) by no later than May 2nd 2012.