Call for Papers: International Workshop on “Changing Patterns of Migration – Changing Patterns of Social Inequalities? Borders and Boundaries in the Enlarged Europe”.
April 12-13, 2012
Bielefeld University
Venue: Centre for Interdisciplinary Research (ZiF), Bielefeld
The workshop aims at discussing the transformation of migration and mobility dynamics in Europe from transnational and global perspectives. The collapse of socialist regimes in Eastern and Central Europe and the fall of the Iron Curtain at the end of the 80’s encouraged considerable migration from former socialist to West European countries, which slowly declined in the 90’s. Later, following the eastern enlargement of the European Union in 2004 and 2007, the migration flows from Central and Eastern to Western Europe continuously decreased. Permanent emigration/immigration has been progressively replaced by short-term and circular migration. This workshop addresses the transformation and new quality of migration between Eastern and Western Europe. By bringing together sociologists, social anthropologists, political scientists and economists, the following topics (among others) will be addressed:
1. In which ways do new types of migration/mobility transform patterns of social inequality in sending and receiving countries?
2. How does the relation between the territorial borders and social boundaries change in the course of new migration dynamics?
3. Do new types of migration promote the emergence of new social spaces, such as transnational labor markets, cross-border fields of care and transnational scientific communities? If yes, what kind of social stratifications come into being within these new transnational spaces?
4. In which manner do formal institutional arrangements, such as welfare, migration, care and gender regimes intersect with informal practices of migrants? Under what conditions do these interrelations result in privileging or depriving particular groups?
Insights from current empirical research addressing the following topics (among others) are highly welcome: Transformation of Territorial Borders and Social Boundaries in Europe; Inequality and Geographic Mobility; Transnational Labour Markets; Cross-Border Fields of Care; Migration and Transformation of Welfare; Cross-Border Circulation of Talents.
Please submit an abstract (250 words) and a short biographical note no later than December 15, 2011 to:
- Dr. Anna Amelina (e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ),
- Prof. Dr. Andreas Vasilache (e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ) and
- Dr. Tatjana Zimenkova (e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ).