Planning of events
At its plenary meeting held on 19 April 2002, the HUM (formerly SCH) approved the proposal for an ESF Forward Look on Immigration and the Construction of Identities in Contemporary Europe prepared by Professor Gretty Mirdal of Copenhagen.
This proposal results from one year of preparation, during which its content has been revised several times by the Committee and discussed with Senior Science Administrators from relevant MOs. By common consent this proposal was considered of strong interest, and its potential multidisciplinary scope within the Humanities field was appreciated. Its possible interaction with several national programs in the same or in related areas was also favorably noticed.. The theme was considered contiguous but complementary to the already approved Forward Look on Cultural Diversity, Collective Identity and Collective Action, submitted to the ESF Board by the Social Sciences Committee (SOC (formerly SCSS)). In order to finalize the proposal, a working group with both HUM (formerly SCH) members and external specialists met in Paris in January 2002 and envisaged the following topics:
A historical perspective on trans-cultural/trans-national identities in Europe
Recognition and representation: National legislation, religious law and identity
The subjective experience of cultural belonging - Cultural and artistic expressions of identity
Language and identity
The development of psychosocial conflicts and their prevention
Muslim-Christian interactions
These intentions were realized through the organization of four workshops. Each of the workshops was chaired by different experts in the relevant fields. Professor Gretty Mirdal acted as overall organizer and coordinator throughout the project.
Workshops
Workshop 1. The history of migration and identities in Europe 6-7
Date: December 2002
Location: NIAS, Wassenaar
Convenor: Prof. Wim Blockmans (Director of NIAS)
Chairs: Profs. Leo Lucassen (NIAS and University of Nijmegen) and Anita Böcker (NIAS and University of Amsterdam)
Report (PDF 160 KB)
Workshop 2. Recognition and representation: national legislation, religious law and identity
Date: 7-8 March 2003
Location: Ministère de la Recherche and Ecole Normale Supérieure (ENS), Paris
Convenors and Chairs: Prof. Jørgen Nielsen (University of Birmingham) and senior Researcher Riva Kastoryano (CERI, Paris) (with the assistance of Prof. Alain Peyraube, Ministère de la Recherche, and EHESS)
Report (PDF 27 KB)
Workshop 3. Psychosocial conflicts and immigration
Date: 22-23 May 2003
Location: Royal Danish Academy for Letters and Sciences, Copenhagen
Convenors and Chairs: Profs Gretty M. Mirdal (University of Copenhagen) and Cigdem Kagitcibasi (Koc University, Istanbul)
Report (PDF 96 KB)
Workshop 4. Language and identity
Date: 20-21 June 2003
Location: Prague
Convenors: Profs. Josef Jarab (University of Palackeho, Olomouc) and Ekkehard König (Freie Universität Berlin)
Chair: Prof. Ekkehard König
Report (PDF 44 KB)
Continuation
The Forward Look workshops or study groups are generally planned with the purpose of leading to a Final Conference. Although this was also the case for the Forward Look on Immigration and the Construction of Identities in Contemporary Europe, the planning group and chairmen of the workshops decided to replace this Final Conference by a written report, in consideration of the fact that the workshops had given a sufficient overview to allow the production of a final report.
An important direct sequel of the final conference/report might be the establishment of a European Collaborative Research Project in this field, involving funding of new research projects along the lines which have been identified in the Forward Look conference. Such a subsequent Collaborative Project might well involve both humanities and the social sciences, and it is the specific wish on the side of the humanities to explore the options for such a mutual Collaborative Project, possibly to be launched in 2004.
Obviously, this would be developed in close cooperation with the ESF Member Organizations which would have to fund such a new, European research initiative. It would also be developed in consultation with the policy makers of the European Research Area and Framework Programs, in a more general effort to increase the share of European Commission funding for research in the social sciences and the humanities.
