Call for papers – Research seminar in Uppsala University

Migration, ethnicity and gender: Racializing processes and intersectional analysis

September 5th-6th, 2012, Uppsala University, Sweden

Organized by

The Hugo Valentin Centre (Uppsala University)

in cooperation with

The Network for Research on Multiculturalism and Societal Interaction (University of Turku, Finland)

Gender and sexuality are central parts of national imaginaries and as Yuval-Davis points out constructions of nation usually involve specific notions of manhood and womanhood. In contemporary Europe, gender and sexuality have become more and more an integrated part of racialization processes in many different ways. In the Nordic context, the gender equality discourse has been increasingly used to draw up boundaries between what are perceived as the ‘gender equal Nordics’ and the ‘patriarchal immigrants’. This has impacted not only the populist and right-wing movements’ rhetoric but also academic writings on gender and/or migration. This challenging situation raises a number of questions concerning social relations, policy making, and so on. It also raises questions in regard to epistemological and theoretical issues in relation to research on migration and minorities, gender and ethnicity, gender and migration, ethnic relations, and on gendered violence.

PhD students are welcomed to send paper proposals dealing with following themes:

1)      How are gender and ethnicity articulated in constructions of ‘we’ and ‘them’ and in formation of social boundaries and hierarchies in Nordic-Baltic contexts?

2)      How do individuals and groups targeted by these discourses relate to them and how do they negotiate their identities and their sense of belongingness in relation to gender, ethnicity, generation, and class?

3)      How do these processes of racialization and social divisions impact academic research on gender, gendered violence, minority, and migration? What are the challenges?

4)      How can we avoid racializations and sexualizations while discussing the problems related to gender inequalities and gendered violence within migrant communities?

5)      What contributions have the intersectional analysis to offer, and what is meant by it?

Keynote speakers:

Professor Patricia Hill Collins, University of Maryland, USA (in cooperation with the Uppsala Network for Post-Colonial Studies)

Professor Irene Molina, Uppsala University, Sweden

Application procedure

PhD students dealing with these and similar topics are encouraged to send an abstract that can be based on an article/chapter draft of PhD dissertation, or other scholarly paper in progress. This is a multidisciplinary and international forum providing a very good opportunity for PhD students to meet other PhD students and scholars from Nordic and Baltic universities, discuss their ongoing projects, receive comments, and to establish networks.

NB! With funding received from Nordforsk, the organizers announce the application for travel grants for PhD students. This grant covers the travel and accommodation expenses due to participation in the seminar.

A short abstract (max. 150 words) including name, email address and affiliation, and a travel plan should be sent to following national contact persons depending on which university the applicant is affiliated with:

Students affiliated with Danish universities, should send the application to Garbi Schmidt (garbi@ruc.dk); with Norwegian universities to Kari Ludvigsen (kari.ludvigsen@uni.no); with Swedish universities to Minoo Alinia (minoo.alinia@valentin.uu.se); with Finnish universities to Auvo Kostiainen (aukosti@utu.fi); with Icelandic universities to Unnur Dis Skaptadottir (unnurd@hi.is); and with Estonian universities to Aida Hatsaturjan (aida@tlu.ee).

See Instructions to apply to complete the application.

See also the list of National contact persons

Key dates and deadlines

Deadline for submitting abstracts: 15th July 2012

Acceptance notification: 20th July 2012

Deadline for sending final papers: 15th August 2012


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