The Oxford Migration Studies Society (OMSS), in collaboration with the University of Oxford’s Migration and Mobility Network (MMN), The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities (TORCH) and Routed Magazine, invites academics, researchers, activists, artists and other practitioners to submit original research, case studies, work, and other insights for presentation at the 2022 Annual Oxford Migration Conference. The conference will focus on the theme ‘Contours of Power: Exploring Power and Migration’. It will take place on 17-19 May 2022 using a hybrid Zoom/in-person approach. Timing of presentations will be adjusted to account for time zones of presenters as much as possible.
Conference theme and objectives
In looking at the theme ‘Contours of Power: Exploring Power and Migration’, the conference will seek to explore the layers of power and agency that affect migration across the globe. It aims to explore (dis)empowerment, agency and the lack of agency, the role of structural power dynamics, and the ways that power is claimed and resisted on a macro and micro scale. We envision discussions will range from healthcare to community activism and from bordering practices to the ways in which researchers and practitioners are complicit in and reproduce power structures. Ultimately, the conference seeks to focus conversation on the fragmented and myriad power dynamics surrounding migration experiences, research, and practice.
OMSS invites a creative interpretation of the theme and sub-themes (below) and seeks submissions from a range of disciplines and backgrounds to engage in this conversation. We particularly welcome original, creative submissions alongside original research. The conference will take place over 3 days, with 2 to 3 panels per day. Presentations will be 15 minutes and will form part of a panel of presentations. Submissions must speak to the wider conference theme, as well as engaging with one of the below sub-themes (please state the relevant sub-theme on your submission):
- Colonial legacies and decolonial futures
- Gender, LGBTQ+ pride and power
- Advancing power of technology
- Climate change and [im]mobility
- Rights, ‘development’ and humanitarianism
Successful presenters will also be offered an opportunity to write a short, written piece for a special edition of Routed Magazine ahead of the conference.
Submission guidelines
Abstracts (250 words maximum; 5 keywords) specifying your contribution should be sent to omss.conference2022@gmail.com by midday (12pm GMT) on Sunday 13 March 2022. Submissions and presentations must be in English. Please include the following:
- Specify the sub-theme that your submission speaks to
- Your time zone and preferred dates/times between 17-19 May 2022
- Your name and contact details
- Institutional affiliation (if relevant)
- Short bio including your relationship to migration (e.g. researcher, practitioner, lived experience of migration, student etc.), maximum 100 words.
Decisions will be communicated by 10 April 2022 via email.
More information: http://www.migration.ox.ac.uk/events/
