KNAW Colloquium: ‘Connected Migrants: Encapsulation or Cosmopolitanism’, 15-16 Dec 2016, Amsterdam

KNAW Colloquium: ‘Connected Migrants: Encapsulation or Cosmopolitanism’

Koen Leurs and Sandra Ponzanesi are organising a colloquium at the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Science (KNAW) called ‘Connected migrants: encapsulation or cosmopolitanism’. The event will take place from 15-16 December 2016 at the seat of KNAW in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Amongst the list of prestigious speakers is Prof. Zygmunt Bauman (Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of Leeds) who will close with a public lecture.

This colloquium brings experts in the field together to acknowledge how boundary making and cosmopolitanisation operate simultaneously. It explores the social, cultural and political implications of migrant digital practices as grounded in everyday practice.

Academics can apply here (there is a 150 euro registration fee, maximum 50 participants in total).

Confirmed speakers

Masterclass
In a masterclass, international experts Farida Vis, Kishonna Gray and Roopika Risam will equip participants with a solid theoretical grounding and methodological skill set to analyse migrant connectivity practices. The organisation also welcomes PhD students, early career researchers and advanced students interested in the topic to apply for this exciting masterclass preceding the colloquium on 14 December 2016 in Amsterdam. There is no fee for participating in the masterclass.

Practical information
Sign up before 15 October 2016! Questions? Email Koen Leurs @ k.h.a.leurs@uu.nl.

“Today, every society is just a collection of diasporas. People join the societies to which they are loyal and pay their taxes, but at the same time, they do not want to give up their identity. The connection between where you live and identity has been broken” – Zygmunt Bauman (http://elpais.com/elpais/2016/01/19/inenglish/1453208692_424660.html)

“Most people use social media not to open their horizons wider, but to lock themselves in a comfort zone” – Zygmunt Bauman (http://elpais.com/elpais/2016/01/19/inenglish/1453208692_424660.html)

World renown emeritus professor Zygmunt Bauman will assess contemporary formations of the internet, diaspora, migration and multiculturalism on a public lecture on Friday 16, from 15.00-16.30.

The KNAW (The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences) has granted funding to Prof. Sandra Ponzanesi and Dr Koen Leurs. In December 2016, they will organise a KNAW Academy Colloquium entitled ‘Connected migrants: encapsulation or cosmopolitanism?’ with 16 international experts. The postcolonial and gender scholars will organise a two-day seminar and a one-day masterclass for advanced PhD students and emerging scholars.

ENCAPSULATION AND COSMOPOLITANISM

In our contemporary world, migrants should be considered as ‘connected migrants’. More than ever before, migrants can chose between different technologies to be in contact with loved ones living in their country of origin. This colloquium will innovatively address how digital practices of migrants revolves around the dialectic of ‘encapsulation’ and ‘cosmopolitanism’.

Previously, scholars singled out one or another of these processes. ‘Homophily’, the assumption that ‘birds of a feather flock together’, is popular among those who argue that transnational communication hinders integration and leads to segregation and radicalisation. Scholars however also contend that migrants can be present in both their host society and their homeland .

Seen this way, migrants can connect with their homeland and diaspora, forming bonding capital and developing bridging, cosmopolitan capital by connecting with their host society. Although contested, cosmopolitanism is indispensable as a ‘grounded category’ to capture everyday reflexive imaginations of openness between self, other and world among elite and subaltern subjects.

This colloquium innovatively brings experts in the field together to acknowledge how boundary making and cosmopolitanisation operate simultaneously and grasps social, cultural and political implications of migrant digital practices as grounded in everyday practices.

We also welcome PhD students, early career researchers and advanced students interested in the topic to apply for this exciting masterclass preceding the colloquium on December 14, 2016 in Amsterdam. International experts Farida Vis, Kishonna Gray & Roopika Risam will equip participants with a solid theoretical grounding and methodological skillset to analyse migrant connectivity practices.

See https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/staff/vis, http://www.kishonnagray.com and http://roopikarisam.com.

Questions? Email Koen Leurs @ k.h.a.leurs@uu.nl

October 18, 2016 in Events 0 Comments

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