About the Conference

The question of changing shifts in in the cultural compositions of communities, populations and nations, through migration, refugee crises and diasporic identities and communities, is one of the greatest challenges to contemporary states and supranational networks.

• The clashes of secular and religious ideologies, and particularly Islamophobia and radical Islamic rejections of secularism
• The global refugee crisis, focused particularly but not exclusively on the Syrian crisis
• The pathology and challenge of economic migration, particular in the European Union but also across the Indian sub-continent, central America and the global south in general (and also counter-critiques as to the potential imperial taint to this characterisation of migration)
• Migration and immigration - positive and negative cases
• The pathology and problems of diasporic communities within nations who seek to retain their cultural difference whilst being a part of a larger cosmopolitan community in solidarity.
• Rights claims by particular communities challenging contemporary borders and state jurisdictions, from the Basques in Spain to the Kurds in Turkey to the Scots in the UK

Call for papers

This workshop invites papers from both within and across the humanities, social sciences, and other disciplinary boundaries or transdisciplinary approaches, with a view to extending critical and creative analyses of all features of immigration, refugees and asylum seeker and diasporic communities as they pertain to the balances of cultural difference and social solidarity within and across borders.

Contributors are invited to suggest papers or more non-traditional presentations that contribute to our understanding of the making, breaking and remaking of cultural difference and social solidarity in contemporary societies.

Whether  polished or provisional, you should aim to occupy a slot of 20 minutes maximum, though shorter contributions are welcomed. They might settle upon one of the themes identified as challenges above, or provide case studies of particular struggles, or suggest a different challenge altogether.

The workshop will be organised around paper/non-traditional presentations, but with a heavy emphasis on the value of discussion as well as exposition. CDSS believe that open discussion serves to enrich presenters’ papers, themes and emerging ideas. It is anticipated that publishing opportunities, for selected papers, will emerge from the workshop.

Cultural Difference and Social Solidarity Network (CDSS) is an international organisation focused broadly on fostering collaboration and debate around the broad issues of difference and solidarity in human societies. The network organizes periodic conferences, and seminars and collaborative projects – see www.differenceandsolidarity.org. It has a particular interest in supporting international research collaboration and younger researchers entering the international stage. The network works towards the development of trans-disciplinary and trans-national understandings of, and, interventions in, questions of solidarity and difference. We are pleased to announce this first collaboration with the 'Between Transnational Mobility and Locality' Research Group, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Faculty in Wroclaw.

Prospective participants should submit an abstract of no more than 200 words using our website: www.differenceandsolidarity.org. We operate a rolling programme of considering and accepting paper proposals, as they are submitted, so as to facilitate those who need to apply for funding. The closing date for abstracts is July 15th, 2016.

Conference fees

The workshop fees (below) include workshop packs, administration, refreshments, 2 lunches and an evening meal reception on the evening of the 13th September:

• Waged/Full time Faculty – 100 Euros
• Postgraduates/Part-time Faculty – 90 Euros

We will provide a brief guide to accessible and reasonably priced accommodation for the event, which delegates book direct.

Organisers

Queries can be directed to either of the workshop organisers:

• Dr Agnieszka Bielewska, Lecturer and 'Between Transnational Mobility and Locality' Research Group, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Faculty Wroclaw, Poland
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• Paul Reynolds, Reader in Sociology and Social Philosophy, Edge Hill University, UK (and co-director, CDSS)
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