Research panel organised for the 14th IMISCOE Annual Conference, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 28-30 June 2017
Organisers: Andreas Pott, Ali Konyali (Institute for Migration Research and Intercultural Studies, Osnabrück)
European cities are subject to ongoing transformations due to the migration-induced diversity of their populations. A coinciding, but only partially connected trend is the new, sometimes growing or at least continuing relevance of religious identities and religious practices. Taking the prominent and extensively debated example of ‘Islam’ and ‘Muslims’ in Europe it is striking that the scholarly debate has hitherto focused mainly on supra-regional discourses, on representations and policies at the national level or on aspects of individual identity formation. In contrast, questions of constructing, negotiating, contesting or spreading religiously defined identities at the local level often remain unanswered.
Inspired by the local turn in migration studies this panel looks at the multi-layered production of religion in and through cities, urban policies and particular urban spaces. The panel addresses a research gap that is also visible within the IMISCOE network. Therefore, we hope to initiate overdue research debates and collaborations between migration, urban, cultural and religious studies. We welcome papers that address questions such as the following:
- How are religious categorizations of the national or supra-national sphere adapted, undermined or changed at the local level?
- What role do urban policies play in this context? How do municipal policy-makers construct religious diversity and address for example ‘Islam’ and ‘Muslims’?
- What kind of local (place-specific) knowledge about ‘Islam’ do local institutions and public representatives generate?
- To what extent may the interaction of municipal actors with faith based organisations be conceived as moments of post-secularity?
- What type of conflicts and what consequences does local visibility of ‘Islam’ (e.g. ‘Islamic’ buildings and architecture, public events) produce in the urban fabric?
Abstracts of maximum 250 words should include a clear research question as well as brief information on data and methods.
Please send your abstract to:
Deadline: 7 December 2016.
We will inform applicants on our decision by December 15, whereas the committee of the annual conference will inform us about the acceptance of the panel by February 1st.