The Refugee Research Centre at the University of East London invites you to a
seminar series to mark 100 years of the Aliens Act:
Acts of Exclusion: then and now
The Aliens Act of 1905 was the first modern law to specify exclusion of
immigrants. It targeted Jewish refugees, encouraging anti-Semitism and setting
a precedent for many later exclusionary measures in Britain and elsewhere in
Europe.
Today’s asylum laws borrow much from the Aliens Act: they also echo the
climate of suspicion and hostility that greeted refugees to Britain in the
early 20th century. What shaped this law? What were its social, political and
cultural implications? How did it influence immigration policy and attitudes
to “minority” groups? What can we learn about a century of legislation on
immigration? Has European society modified its attitudes to “Strangers”?
Three leading figures in the fields of Cultural History, Law, and Film Studies
talk about the Act and visions of the alien, then and now. Each session will
be followed by discussion: there will be plenty of time for contributions and
debate.
Thursday 21 April, 6pm
Foreigners, Aliens and Jews: the 1905 Aliens Act and after
Speaker: David Glover
The 1905 Act was the first anti-immigration law. This talk looks at how and
why it came into being, what it was designed to do, and how it worked in
practice. David Glover considers how the Act changed understandings of the
relationship between citizens, immigrants and the British state, and examines
its influence on later legislation.
David Glover teaches English at the University of Southampton. He has
published widely in Literary and Cultural Studies and is currently writing
Literature, Immigration, Diaspora: A Cultural History of the 1905 Aliens Act.
Thursday 28 April, 6pm
Alien-nation: why law is like it is
Speaker: Peter Fitzpatrick
The Aliens Act is often seen an incidental piece of legislation. This talk
considers the Act as typical of processes of exclusion which have been
integral to development of the modern state and its laws.
Peter Fitzpatrick is Anniversary Professor of Law at Birkbeck, University of
London. He has published works on law and social theory, and on law, racism
and imperialism, the most recent being Modernism and the Grounds of Law. He
has also worked in an international legal practice and in the Prime Minister’s
Office in Papua New Guinea.
Thursday 12 May, 6pm
Screening Strangers in Fortress Europe
speaker: Yosefa Loshitkzy
Europe’s multicultural and ethnic struggles have become key issues in European
cinema. Ethno-diasporas, racism, and immigrant cultures are used to reflect,
negotiate and construct a new image of the “old world.” This talk looks at
the portrayal of ethno-diasporas in European cinema, and at the mythical and
historical roots that have nurtured this representation.
Yosefa Loshitzky is Professor of Film Studies at the University of East
London. She is the author of The Radical Faces of Godard and Bertolucci (1995)
and Identity Politics on the Israeli Screen (2001). She is the editor of
Spielberg’s Holocaust: Critical Perspectives on Schindler’s List (1997)
and is currently writing a book on European Cinema and the Post-Holocaust
Imagination.
Venue
All seminars take place in the Main Lecture Theatre, Docklands Campus. The
campus is adjacent to Cyprus Station on the Docklands Light Railway.
(University of East London, University Way, London E16 RD.)
Sponsors
The seminar series is organised by the Refugee Research Centre at UEL together
with the Pauline Ortiz Memorial Fund. The Centre undertakes research into a
wide range of refugee-related issues, and maintains the Refugee Council
Archive at the University of East London. The Archive is housed at UEL’s
Docklands Campus.
The Pauline Ortiz Memorial Fund was established by Unifi, now part of Amicus,
to celebrate the work of a dedicated trade unionist and educator. The Fund
encourages and promotes learning among adults traditionally denied access to
higher education. It provides bursaries for refugee students who undertake the
MA programme in Refugee Studies at the University of East London.
More information on the Fund at:
http://www.unifi.org.uk/unilearn/paulineortiztrust/index.htm
More information on Refugee Studies at:
http://www.uel.ac.uk/ssmcs/programmes/postgraduate/refugeestudies/index.htm,
or contact Diane Ball: [log in to unmask]; tel 020 8223 2770
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