Citizenship and Belonging: A Postgraduate Conference

Call for Papers: Citizenship and Belonging: A Postgraduate Conference
Posted on December 3, 2012 by citizenshipandbelonging2013

Call for Papers and Participants for a two-day BSA-Sponsored Regional Postgraduate Event

Citizenship and Belonging: A Postgraduate Conference

Hosted by the University Nottingham

On Monday the 25th and Tuesday the 26th of March 2013

Within Sociology, the study of citizenship has recently become more prevalent. T. H. Marshall’s (1950) writings in the early post-war years and his conceptualisation of the development of citizenship in the UK helped to spark some of this interest. Marshall demonstrated the importance of different forms of legal rights and obligations – namely civil, political and social – for the enactment of citizenship in a particular nation-state. It is increasingly being recognised, however, that the legal or formal aspects only constitute one part of citizenship as such. A range of studies have recently sought to investigate the more psychosocial dimensions of citizenship as exemplified by the different forms of belongings amongst ordinary people – citizens and non-citizens alike. This is particularly important to investigate in contemporary times of immigration/citizenship policy restrictions that coincide with and, some would argue, contribute to the anti-immigration sentiments that have made an increasing re-emergence across Europe and beyond.

This is a two-day BSA-Sponsored Regional Postgraduate Event with keynote speakers, postgraduate presentations and a poster competition. Confirmed keynote speakers include:

Prof. Nira Yuval-Davis (University of East London)
the BSA President Prof. John Holmwood (University of Nottingham)
Dr. Michael Skey (University of East Anglia)
Dr. Davide Però (University of Nottingham)

We are calling for postgraduate students interested in and researching a broad range of issues related to the emerging academic field of citizenship and belonging. We intend the conference theme to be interpreted widely; however, we are keen to see abstracts from those who can best demonstrate a critical engagement on research into citizenship and belonging to their research projects, with these (non-limiting) guidelines:

the role of the nation-state
interactions between ethnic majority, minority and migrant groups
the prospect of world citizenship/cosmopolitanism
empirical case studies and/or comparative studies
policy-oriented research
theoretical conceptualisations
methodological concerns

Prospective participants are invited to submit a 250-word abstract to be considered for a 20-minute oral presentation or a poster presentation. We are also inviting postgraduate students who want to attend the conference, but do not wish to present, to submit a 250-word rationale in which they demonstrate how the conference might benefit them. We will only be able to select the best proposals for the presentations and the attendees, as places will be limited. Please note that you are expected to attend both days of the conference. We ask for applicants doing a PhD or an MA at a UK or Irish university.

Please submit your abstract by Sunday the 20th of January 2013, filling out the registration form (found here: http://citizenshipandbelonging2013.wordpress.com/) and send it to belonging2013@gmail.com

Conference registration fee, which will cover both days, including catering and refreshments during the conference:

BSA members £15

Non-BSA members £25