Comparative Studies in Migration and Memory

At a time when transnational mobility is both noticeable and controversial it matters greatly that we better understand the human experience of migration: its subjective histories, social processes and imaginative implications. At a time when the movement of peoples is under intense scrutiny the case for comparative investigation and analysis is compelling. It is necessary to explore interaction between cultures, the processes of personal recollection in life-story and oral history, as well as public memory expressed in commemorations, museums and representations.

To this end we invite PhD researchers to learn more, and to talk with experts in the field, during a course on ‘Comparative Studies in Migration and Memory’. Students with varied disciplinary interests from across the humanities and social sciences are welcome to attend. Our team of expert guest speakers includes scholars from social and cultural history; from studies in culture, language and the arts; and from anthropology and cultural geography. The objective of our course is to work with case studies and comparisons, to find common ground in questions of methodology, to discuss together.

If your PhD project is connected to comparative and interdisciplinary work, if you are researching the migration of individuals and groups and have an interest in any of the subjects listed below, you are welcome to attend. We are especially interested in developing historical, cross-cultural and interdisciplinary studies in the following areas:

• processes of cultural interaction, hybridization and segregation through human movement;
• psychological and social aspects of migrant and diasporic recollection;
• expressions of the migrant past in the visual arts, photography, narrative and documentary film as well as written accounts;
• related questions of language, translation and discourse;
• connections between micro and macro analysis in migration and memory studies;
• links and contrasts, for example between Europe, Latin America and Asia;
• methodological discussions on memory and comparative approaches to migration.

Finally, your topic does not need to be directly comparative for you to take part in this course. Rather, the presentations and discussions of the course are the forum where we can develop the idea of comparisons by connecting research themes and approaches. PhD researchers working on both historical and contemporary subjects are equally welcome.

Registration deadline: 3^rd October. Please register here.

Abstract submission deadline: 24 October. Please submit your abstract to phdschool@hum.ku.dk.

Enquiries & questions: Dr Peter Leese (leese@hum.uk.dk).

ECTS points: 0,8 for participation/ 2,3 for participation with a 15 minute presentation.

For more information, including the program for the course, please visit the course website here.