An Unsettled Future? Forced Migration and Refugee Studies in the 21st Century
International Conference

7–8 December 2007, University of Oxford

CALL FOR PAPERS

This year the Refugee Studies Centre (RSC) at the University of Oxford 
celebrates 25 years of pioneering research in the field of refugee and forced 
migration studies. The past quarter of a century, like many before it, has seen 
human displacement on an enormous scale, touching all continents and the lives 
of millions of people. States, international organisations, and NGOs have often 
struggled to deal with the social, political and economic consequences of 
forced movement. Alongside these developments, the study of refugee movements 
and forced migration more generally has grown. Increasing numbers of academics 
from different disciplines have turned their attention to understanding 
displacement in its many forms and varieties, often with impressive results.

In December 2007, as the culmination of its 25th Anniversary, the RSC will hold 
a two-day international conference dedicated to bringing scholars together to 
take stock of the state of research on refugee and forced migration movements. 
The conference will consider, in particular, how refugee and forced migration 
studies have progressed in the years since the RSC’s inception and what 
contemporary challenges and future directions should inform the ongoing 
development of these areas of study.

Format

The first day of the conference will be dedicated to Conceptualising the Fields 
of forced migration and refugee studies. Invited speakers will debate the 
recent turn towards conceptualising refugees as forced migrants and the 
relationships between forced migration and refugee studies and the broader 
field of migration studies.

Papers are being sought for sub-plenary sessions related to questions of 
conceptualisation, particularly those that address the following questions:

- How should forced migrants and refugees be conceptualised in the current 
international context?
- What is the political, intellectual and sociological significance of the 
growing move to conceptualise the displaced as forced migrants rather than 
refugees?
- What are the costs and benefits of bringing forced migration studies and 
migration studies into closer alignment? To what extent, if at all, are their 
intellectual agendas complementary?

The second day of the conference will consider Key Future Research Areas in 
refugee and forced migration studies for the coming years. Papers and panel 
proposals are being sought on new areas of research that are likely to shed 
light on the causes and consequences of human displacement and the 
international legal and normative framework that governs national and 
international responses to refugees and forced migrants.

Paper and panel proposals on any theme related to forced migration will be 
considered. However, papers in the following panel areas would be of particular 
interest:

- new forms of forced migration and the evolution of violence and warfare
- refugees and the environment
- internal displacement and the challenges to normative and legal frameworks
- the future of international organisations responsible for refugees and forced 
migrants
- the changing international refugee regime and relations between the global 
North and South
- changing social and political constructions of the refugee and of those in 
need of asylum
- approaches to post-conflict reconstruction and refugee return
- extraterritoriality and the development of new practices of border control.

Proposal Submissions

Individuals interested in proposing additional panels should submit a title, 
the names of three or four participants and their paper titles, and an abstract 
of around 300 words describing the topic of their panel. Individuals proposing 
to deliver a paper either in the sub-plenaries on Day 1, or within the panels 
indicated above on Day 2, should submit a paper title and abstract of 300 
words. A short cv or biography (one page maximum) should accompany proposed 
papers and panels.

The selection committee will review proposals for both panels and papers using 
the following criteria:

- Relevance to the conference themes and panels
- Quality of scholarship
- Overall balance of papers in relation to the panels and sub-plenaries.

A selection of papers will be edited for a special issue of the Journal of 
Refugee Studies.

All submissions should be sent to Paul Ryder, Research Information Officer: 
[log in to unmask], by 14th September 2007.

Proposed participants will be notified by October 14 whether or not their 
proposed paper/panel has been accepted.

The conference organisers are Professor Roger Zetter and Dr Matthew J. Gibney.

Department of International Development (QEH), University of Oxford, 3 
Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3TB, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)1865 270722 Fax: +44 (0)1865 270721 
Email: [log in to unmask] Website: www.rsc.ox.ac.uk
Offices and Library: 3 Worcester Street, Oxford, OX1 2PZ, UK

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