The Center for Governance and Culture in Europe (GCE-HSG) at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland invites paper proposals for a conference “Migration, Mobility and Displacement in the Black Sea Region” to be held in Tbilisi, Georgia, on 12-15 September 2022.
Migration in the Black Sea Region is typically considered from an east-to-west perspective with the European Union at the center. From this angle, researchers analyze mobility, the manyfold labor-, forced-, and political migrations, as well as family reunification and integration practices in Europe. It is often the presence of millions of immigrants from the Black Sea countries in Central and Western Europe that inspires the interest of migration scholars to the region. Moreover, border crises garner much attention in migration research, specifically as it concerns illegal pushbacks on the EU-border, for instance.
In this conference, we propose to shift the focus from the EU to the Black Sea Region. In doing so, this multidisciplinary conference seeks to broaden the lens so as to explore present and historical processes of forced population displacements, illegal and voluntary population movements in, out, through, and within the Black Sea region. We propose to regard the Black Sea region as a space where various migration processes interact with transient borders and political in/stability. We seek contributions that explore novel theoretical concepts and methodologies related to migration, mobility, and displacement in the Black Sea Region.
The thematic scope of the conference focuses on, but is not limited to the following fields:
- Theoretical concepts and approaches to population movement.
- New research methods and methodologies to migration, mobility, and displacement.
- Black Sea Region in the age of mass migration.
- Regular and irregular migration to EU/EEA countries.
- Internal migration and mobility within the Black Sea region.
- Transit migration through the region.
- Migration governance and border controls in the Black Sea region.
- The impact of migration on the societies and economies.
- Narratives of migration and displacement.
- Military conflicts, displacement, and refugees in the Black Sea region.
- COVID-19 pandemic migration restrictions and the medicalization of borders.
- Refugees and displacement caused by the Russian war on Ukraine
- Case studies of displaced and migrants’ communities.
We invite sociologists, historians, anthropologists, ethnographers, economists, geographers, political scientists, and academics from related disciplines to apply for the conference. While the primary focus of the conference is the Black Sea Region, researchers focused on other regions are welcome to apply. The conference committee invites Ph.D. students, junior scholars, as well as advanced researchers.
How to apply:
Please send a brief CV (max. 2 pages) and a conference abstract (max. 300 words) to gce-info@unisg.ch as a single pdf document by June 1, 2022. The working language of the conference is English. Should you fail to receive confirmation of receipt of your application, please contact the organizers.
The conference is planned as an in-person event. However, scholars based in Ukraine who are unable to travel as a result of the Russian invasion will be provided with the opportunity to participate online.
The conference committee covers all travel expenses (max. 300 EUR), accommodation, and meals.
Organizers:
Center for Governance and Culture in Europe, University of St.Gallen, Switzerland
Indigo, Tbilisi, Georgia
Contact person:
Oleksii Chebotarov
gce-info@unisg.ch or oleksii.chebotarov@unisg.ch