Migration and Inclusive Societies

The goal of the newly aligned key research area “Migration and Inclusive Societies” (MIS) is to promote innovative research, teaching and outreach in migration studies with the aim of promoting inclusive societies. Membership in MIS is open to all members of FLSHASE that share its research interests.

Cross-border movements provide momentum for social and cultural change: not only via physical movement of people, but also by symbolically transcending the boundaries of what is (thus far) permitted and conventional, or by mediating access to cultural resources from elsewhere, including political ideas and new notions of society. Regardless of whether this relates to people, discourses, texts, linguistic structures or works of art, processes of displacement can be viewed as drivers of continuing transformation to existing forms of knowledge and practice.

MIS joins together scholars who address different facets of the complex social realities of living within a society characterised by movement and change. This interdisciplinary team of experts focuses on very different, yet complementary trajectories thus reflecting the complexity of the subject matter on different levels and from different perspectives. Together, they share the aim of advancing theoretical understanding of the intricacies of movement and its implication for social and cultural change, but also applying this knowledge in teaching as well as in policy and practice via recommendations. The key aim is to establish a strong research focus on one of the most important societal challenges of our days.

Key questions MIS addresses include:

• How can we build more inclusive societies as well as social and territorial cohesion in the era of mobility/migration?
• How does the movement of people interact with and transform the (media-based) movements of cultural resources?
• What are processes of inclusion (and exclusion) on family level between generations? How does intergenerational mobility affect migrant families?
• How do we define culture, what are the impacts of migration for our conception of culture – and what are the consequences of our conception of culture for how we can conceive migration?
• How can the education system react to the persistent increase in heterogeneity and multilingualism and facilitate societal integration?
• At the political level, how can plural societies respond to populist attempts to securitise migration and reinforce territorial and cultural boundaries?
• Under what conditions are bi– or multiculturalism considered a resource?

Members of the MIS-Consortium:

• Till Dembeck - Chairman
• Gabriele Budach
• Birte Nienaber
• Isabelle Albert
• Elke Murdock
• Christian Wille
• Harlan Koff

 

Contact: mis@uni.lu

 

Migration and Inclusive Societies (MIS)