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*Wednesday 15th April 2009, Cardiff University*
* *
*‘Researching Muslims in Britain: *
*A Day Conference for Early Career Researchers’*
* *
*CALL FOR ABSTRACTS*
* *
This one day conference aims to explore some of the methodological debates
on conducting research on, with and for British Muslims in contemporary
society, focusing on the practice of reflexivity and situatedness in
research.
Researcher dynamics and insider/outsider boundaries were first emphasised by
feminist researchers and critical race theorists in the 1980s. This
scholarship emphasised the relationship between power and knowledge and the
importance of situating the researcher into the process of knowledge
production. There is now an established literature that explores the
interpersonal dynamics in fieldwork, particularly in relation to positions
of gender, ethnicity and race. Most of these reflexive works have investigated
the relationship between researcher and participants within ethnographic
research or within indepth interviews.
Since the disturbances in cities in the North of England in the summer of
2001, as well as the atrocities of 11th September 2001 and the 2005 London
bombings, Muslims in Britain have been placed at the very centre of media
attention and political concern. There is now a burgeoning academic
literature focusing on Muslims in Britain, but this has not been matched by
an interrogation of methodologies utilised within research. There has been a
very limited focus on the importance of the role of researchers in relation
to research on, with and for Muslims, or on insider/outsider dynamics as
experienced by non/Muslim researchers.
This conference seeks to bring together social science researchers and
Islamic studies scholars, with the aim of exchanging dialogue about
theoretical and practical issues concerning reflexivity and positionality in
relation to research on Muslims in Britain. We are particularly keen to
attract papers from early career researchers (including PhD students) from
the humanities and social science disciplines. Possible topics might
include:
- research dynamics
- insider/outsider statuses in relation to faith
- the ways in which faith intersects with other positions such as gender,
ethnicity, class, nationality, sexuality, dis/ability and age in fieldwork
- reflexivity in qualitative and quantitative research (including
innovative methods such as internet-based research, longitudinal research,
the re-use of existing qualitative data, visual methods and participatory
approaches)
- reciprocity in research
- ethical issues in relation to research on Muslims in Britain
Abstracts (max 300 words) on these or other related topics should be
submitted to Jody Mellor and Asma Khan ([log in to unmask] and
[log in to unmask]) by *27th March 2009* at the very latest.
Confirmed speakers include Peter Hopkins (University of Newcastle) and
Serena Hussain (Oxford University).
Lunch and refreshments will be provided, and there is no fee for
registration. Please note that we are unable to cover the expenses of
speakers, but we have limited funds to offer financial assistance towards
accommodation for PhD students.
Any further enquiries about the event should be directed to Jody Mellor on
02920 876125 or Asma Khan on 02920 875069. Details of this conference are
also available in Welsh.
Many thanks
Dr Jody Mellor
Centre for the Study of Islam in the UK
School of Religious and Theological Studies
Cardiff University
Cardiff
CF10 3EU
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