BSA Theory Study Group Biennial Conference: “Race. Migration. Citizenship. Postcolonial and Decolonial Perspectives”

CfP: Little Britain’s Memory of Slavery: Local Nuances of a ‘National Sin’

This conference will take place at UCL between Friday 13th and Saturday 14th September 2013.

Keynote Speakers
Professor Catherine Hall, University College London
Dr. Madge Dresser, University of the West of England

Plus an Artists in Conversation Event, chaired by Professor Alan Rice, University of Central Lancashire

Welcome Address by Professor John Oldfield, Wilberforce Institute for the study of Slavery and Emancipation, University of Hull.

Call for Papers
In recent years there has been an explosion of interest around the history of the transatlantic slave trade fuelled largely by public, academic and institutional activities and projects undertaken for the national marking of 2007 as the Bicentenary of the Abolition Act in Britain. Alongside this there has been a greatly heightened academic and scholarly consideration of the way Britain has remembered this history through museum exhibitions, memorialisation and cultural representations in media, film and literature. Further large scale research initiatives have been set in motion to assess and explore the legacies of this history such as the ESRC funded Legacies of British Slavery Project at UCL and the recently initiated European-wide project combining genetics, archaeology and public history (EUROTAST). Numerous postgraduate and early career researchers across the country have also embarked upon individual projects of their own in a variety of disciplines across the humanities, including the organisers of this conference. Much of the research currently being done is turning away from the national picture and increasingly focusing on the smaller scale specifics of British involvement in transatlantic slavery, on the memory and legacies of individual people and places in their specific contexts and we are honoured to welcome some of the people pioneering these research strands from Catherine Hall’s work on nineteenth century biography, Alan Rice’s research into Lancaster’s memorial project, and Madge Dresser’s consideration of Bristol’s ‘obscured’ links to its involvement in the transatlantic slave trade.

This two day conference aims to facilitate a dialogue across institutions, disciplines and subject areas between people whose work addresses the smaller-scale specifics of Britain’s memory of slavery in more ‘local’ projects, looking at case studies of places, the lives and memory of individuals, networks and organisations across a broad span of time, from the 18th century to the present day. Through this intellectual exchange we aim to correlate the micro with the macro and probe the extent to which the literature on Britain’s national memory of slavery holds true for more nuanced case studies and specific research currently being carried out. The dialogue will thereby explore the interactions of ‘levels of memory’ in relation to this history whilst giving focus to individual and local agency and aiding a more complex understanding of the workings of memory in line with history.

Potential panel areas could cover though are by no means limited to:

People and memory: enslaved and free black people living in Britain, black and white abolitionists in Britain and their contexts; merchants and the legacies of individual and family wealth; politicians (pro and anti-slavery), historians and authors – writing slavery, artists and performers – contesting and creatively engaging with memory
Place and memory: towns and cities – the urban landscape of slavery memory; ports and the ‘maritimization’ of slavery; country houses and the elaborate display of excessive wealth; parks and gardens – open public spaces; local art exhibitions and artist interventions; walking tours and history trails
Organisations and Networks: public and private institutions (schools, banks, high culture) and remembered/forgotten connections; charitable organisations and people – the paradox of philanthropy; religious organisations and campaigning
Memory Work: local museums, galleries and the exhibition of memory; local memorials – creating tangible memory; heritage projects and the communal effort
Education: teaching slavery in schools, informal learning and adult education
Engaging with communities and conducting outreach: token gestures or meaningful encounters?
Reparations, social justice and apologies: where are we now?
The (contemporary) slavery question: the drive to highlight contemporary global human rights abuses –natural succession or diversion tactic?

How to Respond

Papers are invited from postgraduate students, early career researchers, established academics and independent researchers from any discipline including History, English, Museology, Archaeology, Heritage, Geography, Politics, Philosophy, Sociology, Women’s Studies, Film, Theatre and History of Art. Please send abstracts of 250 words for 20 minute papers along with a 50 word biography to theorganisers: Kate Donington, Jessica Moody and Ryan Hanley via email LBMSconference@gmail.com by May 31st 2013.

Slavery: The Past and Present of Social (Un)Justice. Introducing the Decolonial Option.

Summer School 24^th of June – 9^th of July 2013
University College Roosevelt (Middleburg, The Netherlands)
Walter Mignolo (Duke University) & Rolando Vazquez (UCR)

Guest Faculty:

Maria Lugones (Argentina/US; State University of New York)

Jean Casimir (Haiti; State University of Haiti)

Patrice Naiambana (Sierra Leone; Tribal Soul)

Fabian Barba (Ecuador; Busy Rocks)

Alanna Lockward (Dominican Republic/ Germany; Art Labour Archives)

Ovidiu Tichindeleanu (Rumania; IDEA Magazine)

THE DECOLONIAL SUMMER SCHOOL MIDDELBURG, 24 JUNE – 09 JULY, 2013

The construction of democratic and equitable futures requires us to understand the ways in which unjustness is being perpetuated. Modernity/coloniality has been, and continues to be, a system of believing and sensing that exercises (un)justice in the name of salvation. Decolonial justice proceeds by recognizing the colonial wound and opening paths of healing. Slavery remains the most telling process in the formation of Western civilization and the modern/colonial world. From the XVI to early XIX centuries, the Atlantic was the scenario where human beings were traded as commodities. While Atlantic slavery was abolished through the nineteenth century, its legacy remains alive and well today. Slavery is a historical reality upon which Western modernity built its economic foundations at the same time that it managed to “normalize” the dispensability of human lives. This seminar explores the historical singularities of racism as the justification of Atlantic slavery and, conceptually, it explore how racism and patriarchy continue to justify the commodification of human lives. We will conduct this exploration through history, theory, art, religion, gender and racism.

The 4th edition of the Middelburg Decolonial Summer School focuses on “Slavery: The Past and Present of Social (Un) Justice”. It is designed to investigate the logic and presupposition of Global Un-justice in the modern/colonial world, from 1500 to 2000. The seminar takes place in Middelburg, a key city in the formation of Western power and a center of Dutch slave trade and it is set against the backdrop of the 150 anniversary of the abolition of slavery in The Netherlands.

We will pay special attention to emerging projects, parallel to the decoloniality option, who are working toward overcoming the legacies of the Colonial difference and more generally the South-North divide. If un-justices operate at all levels of the socio-economic and cultural spectrum, from economy to politics, from religion to aesthetics, from gender and sexuality to ethnicity and racism, and above all, in the control of knowledge, the decolonial task, that of overcoming coloniality requires the participation of many people in many areas of knowing and doing. Activists, artists, scholars, journalists will, among others, contribute to the goals of the 4th edition of the Decolonial Summer School in Middleburg.

A registration form is available at the Utrecht Summer School Website Deadline 15th of May.

In cooperation with:The Center for Global Studies and the Humanities at Duke University

Here are some VIDEOS that our alumni Rod Sachs made in 2011th edition:

Decolonial Thank You http://vimeo.com/36484325

Decolonial Voice Lending – Interview with Dr. Walter Mignolo http://vimeo.com/35820205

About the faculty:

Walter Mignolo: waltermignolo.com/

Jean Casimir: globalstudies.trinity.duke.edu/wko-v2d3

Maria Lugones: www2.binghamton.edu/comparative-literature/faculty/lugones-m.html

Fabian Barba: www.caravanproduction.be/?page=artists&aid=91

Alanna Lockward: artlabourarchives.wordpress.com

Patrice Naiambana: www.tribalsoularts.com

Ovidiu Tichindeleanu: idea.ro/revista

Rolando Vázquez: www.ucr.nl/about-ucr/Faculty-and-Staff/Social-Science/

CfP: The Trouble with Research

The Stuart Hall Library Research Network is a monthly meeting place for postgraduate researchers (artists, critics, curators) to present their work. For more details of this, see here.

The library will host a symposium on 20/27 June (date to be confirmed), 12-6pm, on the theme ‘The Trouble with Research’.

This is an opportunity to engage with any of the following:

- The relationship between contemporary visual art and cultural politics

- Stuart Hall’s work on culture and representation

- Artistic and/or curatorial practice

- Filmmaking and media analysis

- Literary Studies including criticism and theory

If you are interested in presenting at the symposium, please email a 250 word summary, a short biography (no more than 200 words) and equipment requirements by Friday 17 May to Sonia Hope, Library Manager, and Roshini Kempadoo (Media Artist, Photographer, Reader in Media Practice, UEL and Stuart Hall Library Animateur) at library@iniva.org

CfP: Sociology and the Global Economic Crisis

Special Issue of Sociology: Call for Papers
Deadline for submissions: 31 August 2013

We hear it, see it, and read about it everywhere; yet, to what extent are we able to translate the quotidian reality of the global economic crisis into adequate forms of knowledge? Has the crisis highlighted important limits in our sociological imagination linked either to the subdivision of our discipline or, more fundamentally, questioned the contemporary relevance of sociology as a social science?

This Special Issue of Sociology, to be published in October 2014, invites contributions that will:

· Explore how sociology can contribute to a better understanding of (the lived experience of) the global economic crisis; and/or
· Reflect on how social processes and movements confronting the crisis can inspire a new sociological imagination.

And aims to bring together contributions that:

· Bridge disciplines
· Unsettle conventions
· Cosmopolitanise epistemologies
· Renew sociology

The Editors welcome contributions on relevant topics in any field of social science engaging with sociological research, from early career and established academics, and from those outside academia.

Queries: To discuss initial ideas or seek editorial advice, please contact the Special Issue Editors by email on sociology.specialissue.2014@gmail.com

Editorial Team: Ana C. Dinerstein (University of Bath), Gregory Schwartz (University of Bath) and Graham Taylor (University of the West of England)

Full Call for Papers: http://www.britsoc.co.uk/media/48566/Global_Economic_Crisis_SOC_SI_2014_CFP.pdf

Book Launch: Leah Bassel’s ‘Refugee Women: Beyond Gender versus Culture’

CMRB (Centre for research on Migration, Refugees and Belonging) is delighted to invite you to the book launch for: Refugee Women: Beyond gender versus culture, by Leah Bassel which will take place in EB.G.05 Docklands Campus, University of East London, E16 2RD, nearest tube: Cyprus DLR (http://www.uel.ac.uk/campuses/docklands/)

Monday 18^th March, 4-6pm

Discussant: Prof. Maleiha Malik

Leah Bassel is New Blood Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Leicester. Her research focuses on the political sociology of gender, migration, race and citizenship. Her work has also been published in journals including Politics & Gender, Ethnicities, Government and Opposition and French Politics. She is an Assistant Editor of the journal Citizenship Studies.

Maleiha Malik is Professor in Law at King’s College London. She is a barrister and a member and fellow of the Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn. Her research focuses on the theory and practice of discrimination law. She is the co-author of Discrimination Law: Theory and Practice which was published in 2008.

Refugee Women: Beyond Gender Versus Culture

Debates over the headscarf and niqab, so-called ‘sharia-tribunals’, Female Genital Operations and forced marriages have raged in Europe and North America in recent years, raising the question – does accommodating Islam violate women’s rights? The book takes issue with the terms of this debate. It contrasts debates in France over the headscarf and in Canada over religious arbitration with the lived experience of a specific group of Muslim women: Somali refugee women. The challenges these women eloquently describe first-hand demonstrate that the fray over accommodating culture and religion neglects other needs and engenders a democratic deficit.

In Refugee Women: Beyond Gender versus Culture, new theoretical perspectives recast both the story told and who tells the tale. By focusing on the politics underlying how these debates are framed and the experiences of women at the heart of these controversies, women are considered first and foremost as democratic agents rather than actors in the ‘culture versus gender’ script. Crucially, the institutions and processes created to address women’s needs are critically assessed from this perspective.

Breaking from scholarship that focuses on whether the accommodation of culture and religion harms women, Bassel argues that this debate ignores the realities of the women at its heart. In these debates, Muslim women are constructed as silent victims. Bassel pleads compellingly for a consideration of women in all their complexity, as active participants in democratic life.

Blackness in Britain: An interdisciplinary Black Studies conference

CALL FOR PAPERS: deadline 31st May 2013

Conference: Thursday 12th September 2013, 9.30 -17.30
Newman University, Birmingham

People of African ancestry have a long history and tradition in the United Kingdom. This history has been hallmarked by a number of struggles for recognition and against discrimination. In the present context of global uncertainty, and the reshaping of the British welfare state, as well as the UK’s attempts to reposition itself in relation to Europe, it is essential that we examine the place of the Black population and the challenges that lie ahead in the future.

Academia should play a central role in researching and entering into the necessary debates about the future of Black Britain, however our voices have largely been marginalised within the British academy. The aim of this conference is to bring Black academics who are engaged in the essential work of researching the past, present and future condition of the Black population in Britain. We hope that this will be the first conference of many and aim to build a network of Black academics in the UK.

As this is the first conference we are purposely keeping the call for papers open to cover any topic that either has impacted or will impact on the Black population in Britain. Potential topics could include, but are by no means limited to:

Education
Black identity
Health
Black Europe
Black feminism
Migrations/Emigrations
The impact of austerity
Black Britain in the global context
Black arts and culture
Black spirituality, theology and religion

The conference is interdisciplinary so we welcome papers from across all subject areas. The conference will be free to attend but spaces are limited, so please indicate your interest as soon as possible.

Confirmed keynotes: Dr Tracey Reynolds, Dr Anthony Reddie

If you would like to present a paper at the conference please send in an abstract of no more than 250 words by 31st May 2013, to:

Dr Kehinde Andrews k.andrews@newman.ac.uk

Dr Lisa Palmer lisa.palmer@newman.ac.uk

Early Career Theorists’ Symposium

Tuesday April 2, 2013
King’s College London, Strand Building Room SO2
organized by Gurminder K Bhambra (University of Warwick) and Monika Krause (Goldsmiths)
British Sociological Association Theory Study Group

TO BOOK: click here

PROGRAMME

10.00-11.30: The Self and the Social

Dara Blumenthal (University of Kent): Disturbing Reflections: Matters of meaning beyond same and different

Francesca Montemaggi (University of Cardiff): The I and Thou: A Simmelian Framework for the Understanding of Authenticity and Religiosity

Michelle Farr (University of Bath): Collective reflexivity and the possibilities of social change

Commentator: Celia Lury (University of Warwick)

11.45-1.15 Agents of Change

Suzi Hall (LSE): Multi-literate city: migration and urban renewal

Vik Loveday (Goldsmiths): Moving from escape to fugitivity: working-class histories, social mobility and ‘indebtedness’ in Higher Education

Dave Yates (University of Kent): A Troubled Synthesis: The difficulties and possible benefits of blending Social Systems Theory and Actor Network Theory

Commentator: Mike Savage (LSE)

1.15-2.30: Lunch

2.30-4.00 Ideology and Ethics

Edgar Zavala-Pelayo (University of Edinburgh): Is benevolence enough? Professional sociologies in Mexico and the issue of epistemic provincialization in global and postcolonial sociologies

Eric Lybeck (University of Cambridge): The Ideological Organization of University Systems: A
Theoretical Framework.

Marcus Morgan (Goldsmiths): Sociology as Ethics

Commentator: John Holmwood (University of Nottingham)

4.00-5.00 Afterpanel: The Meaning of Theory

Will Davies (Warwick University), Monika Krause (Goldsmiths College), Lindsey McGoey (University of Essex)

2012 Theory Stream Plenary: Saskia Sassen

BSA Annual Conference 2012: THEORY STREAM PLENARY
Wednesday 11th April, 6.15-7.15pm, Leeds University

EXPULSIONS: A Category for our Age
Professor Saskia Sassen, Columbia University
www.saskiasassen.com

When the cold war ended, a new struggle began. The period of Keynesian-led relative redistribution in developed market economies was followed by a radical reshuffling of capitalism. The Keynesian period brought with it an active expansion of logics that valued people as workers and consumers. The current phase of advanced capitalism does not. In the last two decades there has been a sharp growth in the numbers of people that have been “expelled” from homes, villages, life projects, support systems; their numbers are far larger than the newly “incorporated” middle classes of countries such as India and China. I use the term “expelled” to describe a diversity of conditions: the growing numbers of the abjectly poor, of the displaced in poor countries who are warehoused in formal and informal refugee camps, of the minoritized and persecuted in rich countries who are warehoused in prisons, of workers whose bodies are destroyed on the job and rendered useless at far too young an age, able-bodied surplus populations warehoused in ghettoes and slums. My argument is that this massive expulsion is actually signaling a deeper systemic transformation that has been documented in bits and pieces but not quite narrated as an overarching dynamic that is taking us into a new phase of global capitalism. The paper is based on the author’s forthcoming book Expulsions.

Social Class and Educational Aspiration

The BSA postgraduate forum is sponsoring an event of Social Class and Educational Aspiration for postgraduates involved in this area of research. The Conference and Workshop will be hosted by the University of East London On Tuesday 20th and Wednesday 21st March 2012. The event is structured around five keynote lectures by leading social class and education academics alongside two tutorial PhD workshops, conducted by the academic speakers. Conference abstracts are sought from 18 postgraduates; eight of whom will be selected to give a 20 minute talk and the rest will be invited to give a poster presentation. There is an option to only give a poster presentation but you must still send an abstract. It is intended that the conference theme is interpreted widely, however the following themes in relation to social class are of particular interest:

·         Educational aspiration,
·         Educational attainment/achievement,
·         Access to higher education,
·         Recent changes in educational policies,
·         Theoretical and methodological discussions on social class and education.

If you are interested in taking part in this event please see http://www.britsoc.co.uk/events/postgrad.htm for further details on how to apply. You will need to complete the application form and write an abstract of no more than 250 words on how your research demonstrates a sociological and/or educational critical engagement with social class and education – in particular educational aspiration.

If you have any further queries please contact Jenny and Tamsin at: sceaevent2012@gmail.com . The deadline for applications is Monday February 6th 2012. Please note that this event is free for all participants who are BSA members and £25 to all non-BSA members. All participants are expected to be present for the full two days.