Migration and Border Regimes: (Im)mobilities, temporalities and categorisations

This PGR conference is a one day event, at the University of Sheffield, Thursday 27th June. We welcome attendees with an interest in migration research to give support to our fellow presenters.

Spaces for attendance is limited, so please only register if you can attend (and please note this event is in-person only). Refreshments will be provided and a buffet lunch will be served. 

Abstract:

This conference calls for papers discussing the intricate and complex relations within migration and border regimes and their effects on individual lives. Migrant categories - framed as definitive and immutable but constantly being reconstructed by these regimes  - become a powerful tool in shaping who migrates, how and with what rights. The imposition of these categories forces individuals to fit into a specific ‘class’ of migrants and fails to understand the complexities underpinning migration experiences (Crawley and Skleparis, 2018). The imposition of categories is observed through laws, regulations, policies and institutions that underpin border regimes, rendering some immobile. These categories have also helped impose and maintain social hierarchies, unequal relations and  sustain the ‘us’ vs ‘them’  dichotomy in public discourse. This conference also seeks to incorporate notions of time, temporalities, ‘waithood’  to consider how regimes can render people ‘immobile’ and suspend their life course. In this context, examining (im)mobilities through an interdisciplinary perspective will help us to understand the complexities underpinning the movement of people (Schewel 2019). Thus, this conference will seek to draw out a range of perspectives on these topics, theoretical approaches and methodologies.

Please contact Migration Research Conference team if you have any questions: migration.research.conference@gmail.com