Call for expressions of interest: Public Attitudes to Migration and (Mediated) Experiences of Outward Migration in Europe

Posted by on

Date: 16-17 January, 2023
Location: University of Sussex, UK
Deadline for submissions: 9 December, 2022
Institutional Leads/Partners: University of Sussex; University of Lincoln; University of Leicester; University of Bayreuth
Contact emails: charlotte.taylor@sussex.ac.uk; kshaw@lincoln.ac.uk

Call for expressions of interest: We invite expressions of interest for a two-day roundtable/workshop at the University of Sussex from 16-17 January 2023. The workshop aims to encourage interdisciplinary dialogue on the study of migration narratives in Europe and cultivate new approaches to understanding how representations of outward migration affect public attitudes to immigration. Based on the assumption that these migration narratives are central to understanding ourselves as national, European and global citizens, the workshop will consider how narrated personal experiences as well as news media and cultural forms, including contemporary literature and film, can inform public understandings of cultural identities, with consequences for ideas of national belonging and the shared experience of mobility.

The workshop will feature roundtable discussions, screenings and contributions from academics working in the fields of linguistics, literature, politics, social psychology, anthropology and sociology, as well as representatives from third-sector organisations. We intend for this initial workshop to form the foundations of an interdisciplinary UK-German research network on migration as well as an edited collection on public attitudes to migration.
Possible discussion points include:
1.      Attempts to shape and contest dominant immigration narratives;
2.      Representations of outward migration;
3.      Representations of return migration;
4.      The impact of media representations of outward/return migration on citizens;
5.      Representations of elite and non-elite mobilities;
6.      Bridging academic research on migration narratives and fostering connections with non-academic organisations.
We invite expressions of interest in the form of brief descriptions of around 250 words outlining how your research could connect to one or more of the talking points above, along with a brief bionote (100-150 words). EOI are particularly encouraged from Early Career Researchers working in related areas and from colleagues working on UK and German contexts.


Support: We are able to offer a small number of travel and accommodation bursaries for the workshop. When applying, please specify whether you would like to be considered for one of these, and where you would be travelling from.

Organising committee: Charlotte Taylor (University of Sussex), Kristian Shaw (University of Lincoln), Gozde Naiboglu (University of Leicester), Tabea Scharrer (Leipzig University)