IMISCOE Standing Committee “Superdiversity, Migration and Cultural Change” (DIVCULT) Call for Proposals for the 20th IMISCOE Annual Conference, 3-6 July 2023, Warsaw & online

DIVCULT aims to better understand the relevance of arts and culture in the theoretical and policy debates about immigrant incorporation and diversity in Europe and beyond. The main interests of the standing committee are a) artistic and cultural practices of immigrants and their descendants, b) racism and discrimination in the arts and cultural fields and c) the consumption of arts and culture among immigrants.

Our debates in these three areas of interest currently revolve around the following issues. In the first instance, we discuss the artistic and cultural practices by immigrants and their descendants as a means of moving beyond ethnic differences towards narratives of identity and belonging that are more apt to capture the current post-migrant reality in many cities and countries. In other words, we are interested in how far these practices (re)produce, change and challenge local and international cultural hegemonies. At the same time, we are aware that arts and culture are characterised by and reinforce racial and other inequalities. We are interested in analysing, in theory and practice, the barriers that bar immigrants and their descendants, and in particular visible ethnic and religious minorities, from entry and success in these fields. Last but not least, we focus on whether arts and cultural consumption can be a means of immigrant inclusion, while taking into account the existing inequalities that may limit and influence immigrant participation in artistic and cultural activities.

DIVCULT calls for panel, workshop, and paper proposals that fall into the framework of the Standing Committee. We are open to theoretical, methodological and empirical proposals from all disciplines. Panels and papers can refer to a wide range of artistic and cultural activities, including, but not limited to, music, literature, cinema, theatre, sports, fashion, clothing, design and food.

How to submit your proposals:

Individual Paper Proposals
Paper proposals should include a 250-word abstract and the name, affiliation and contact details of the author(s). Individual papers will be thematically clustered into panels. We strongly encourage authors to highlight the conceptual and methodological novelty of their contribution.

Panel Proposals
Panel proposals should include a 250-word abstract of the theme of the panel, together with min 3/max 5 thematically consistent and related 250-word paper abstracts. Submissions should also include the name, affiliation and contact details of the chair(s), discussant(s) and author(s) of each paper.

Workshop Proposals
Proposals can also be submitted for workshops. This can be, for example, book workshops, policy workshops or round tables focusing on specific topics, with the aim of discussing research or outlining future research agendas. Submissions for workshops should include a maximum of 400-word abstract as well as the names, affiliations and contact details of the organizer(s) and workshop participants (up to 10 participants, excluding the workshop chairs).

The deadline for submitting proposals is 5 December 2022 (23:59 CET). Please submit your proposals through the IMISCOE submission platform and link them to the SC “Superdiversity, Migration and Cultural Change”.

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