Migration and mobility are pre-eminently spatial phenomena, as they consist by definition of a movement through space. Scholars in this field often view their research through a spatial lens, via sites of study such as arrival cities (Saunders, 2011) or neighbourhoods (Hanhörster & Wessendorf, 2020), public spaces (Bhatti et al., 2009), everyday geopolitics (Benwell, 2016), semi-public spaces such as asylum- and reception centres (Griffiths, 2014), and soft arrival infrastructures (Boost & Oosterlynck, 2019) such as coffee bars or hair salons (De Backer et al., 2023).
Yet, the importance of (public) space in migration research is often left quite implicit. For this reason, this interdisciplinary workshop focuses on the role of (public) space in migration research, both as a site of social research, as well as an inspiring source of conceptual and theoretical perspectives.
Please check out the Call For Papers, inviting paper presentations by junior or early career scholars working in the broad field of migration research, with an important focus on the importance of (public) space.
Programme
13:00-13:10: welcome by Lucas Melgaço (Crime & Society Research Group)
13:10-13:30: keynote by Mattias De Backer (Crime & Society Research Group) & Lena Imeraj (BCUS – Brussels Centre for Urban Studies)
13:30-15:00: panel + Q&A
15:00-15:15: coffee break
15:15-17:00: collective cartography workshop by Annelys de Vet (Subjective Editions) & Floris Liekens (Crime & Society Research Group)
17:00-18:00: closing drinks
Organised by Mattias De Backer en Floris Liekens (CRiS), Lena Imeraj (COSM), participation of Annelys de Vet (Subjective Editions) and in collaboration with BCUS and BIRMM.
Annelys de Vet is a Belgium-based designer, researcher, and educator with a practice for long-term, participative design projects engaged in social and political struggles. De Vet initiated the publishing initiative' Subjective Editions,' mapping regions from the inside out by the inhabitants themselves, including 'Subjective Atlas of Amsterdam' (2023), 'Subjective Atlas of Brussels' (2018), and 'Subjective Atlas of Palestine' (2007). De Vet co-founded 'Disarming Design from Palestine,' a thought-provoking design platform developing artisanal products from Palestine conveying alternative narratives about life under occupation. She headed the temporary master's program 'Disarming Design' (2020–2022), centring design practices in situations of oppression, which was part of the Sandberg Instituut Amsterdam, where she was the course director of the MA in Design from 2009 to 2019. Currently, De Vet is a PhD candidate at ARIA, the Antwerp Research Institute for the Arts and teaches at the Sint Lucas School of Arts Antwerp. She regularly speaks on alternative cartography, critical pedagogy, and relational design practices at various schools and platforms worldwide.