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29/10/08 fyi (as received...) Elisabeth ------- Migration, Christianity and identity-construction (19th and 20th = centuries) Recent decades have seen a renewed historiographic interest in = migration. In order to give a fuller account of the complexity of this = phenomenon, the classical institutional and socio-economic analytic = framework is being increasingly broadened through the use of other = explicatory variables such as cultural value-patterns, group dynamics, = forms of (shared) self-understanding and - more in general - different = lifestyles. In this way researchers aim to assess the processes through = which migrants have 'accommodated' the legacy of their original milieu = to the requirements of their new surroundings, and thus have given = meaning to their new life-paths. Seen from this perspective, questions pertaining to the interaction = between religion and migration become particularly pertinent, especially = when the question of identity-construction takes a central place.=20 Religion seems to fulfil an important role in many identification = processes by means of which migrants give meaning to their new = surroundings - processes in confrontation/synergy with the new milieu in = which they are establishing themselves (which resulted often in strong = mosaic identities). Given the present common view in which recent = migration is often represented as a 'problem', it has been all too easy = to assume - often with reference to a bygone, largely homogeneous = Christian area - that the integration of intra-European migrations (19th = century - years 1950) took place largely without problems. Drawing on a = context-sensitive analysis, however, historians have now established = that these migrants often stubbornly clung to (or were encouraged to = cling to) the religious and cultural frames of reference from their = country of origin. With the */Migration, Christianity and Identity-construction/* workshop, = in the framework of /Culture, Religion, Otherness. Flemish/Belgian = migrants in Northern France and Paris (1850-1960)/, a project of the = Research Foundation - Flanders, attention will be paid to the many = aspects of the interaction between Christianity and migration in Western = Europe. Here the focus will be on the old (mainly Christian) = intra-European migration flows. *_1._* Space will be allotted to contributions that offer insight into = _the role of religion in the identification processes_ themselves. What = did this role mean in concrete terms for the newcomer? And for those who = followed? To what extent was religion a concrete help in the = construction of a new life in a foreign country? To what extent was = religion a source of tension, both within the migrant community and in = relation to the /others/? And what was the relation between religious = identification and other identifications (nationality, gender, family, = neighbourhood, social-economic position...)? What was the role of such = identification in the daily network and life of the immigrant? *_2._* An unmistakable part of the interaction between Christianity and = migration is the _translocal/transnational religious framework_ that was = set up by the countries of origin for migrants in the various = establishment-structures in Western Europe. Different denominations = actively worked for a wide range of nationalities. To what extent were = these organisations an obstructive or facilitating factor for = integration/assimilation? What relation did these initiatives have to = the host country and to the country of origin? Were they considered = inimical or favourable by migrants, the host population, the different = levels of government, the competing or related denominations? What = unifying (and protective) strategies did denominations develop in the = interest of the immigrants? What were the actual objectives and how did = these relate to the actual results? What can we learn from the impact on = the second or third generation? *_3._* The workshop will also offer an opportunity for contributions = that focus on the _self-image and the self-understanding of migrants_, = based on ego-sources (diaries, correspondence, autobiographies, oral = history, ...). Also welcome are historical contributions that, within the thematic = framework, offer approaches for (methodological) renewal and the = questioning of concepts. *Proposals for papers* (max. 500 words) should be addressed by e-mail to = Henk Byls ([log in to unmask]) by *31 December 2008*. The = participants of the conference will be asked to produce an article for a = volume in the international peer reviewed series /KADOC Studies on = Religion, Culture and Society/ (University Press Leuven). *Decision* by the scientific commission: *15 February 2009* *Dates of the Workshop*: *19th and the 20th of November*, *2009*, KADOC- = K.U.Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. *Scientific commission:* Prof. dr. Jan De Maeyer (KADOC - Katholieke = Universiteit Leuven), Prof. dr. Anne Morelli (Universit=E9 Libre de = Bruxelles), Prof.dr. Didier Terrier (Universit=E9 de Valenciennes et du = Hainaut Cambr=E9sis), Prof. dr. Idesbald Goddeeris (Katholieke = Universiteit Leuven), dr. Peter Heyrman (KADOC - Katholieke Universiteit = Leuven), drs. Henk Byls (KADOC- Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) *Contact* Henk Byls KADOC, K.U.Leuven Vlamingenstraat 39 B-3000 Leuven Belgium tel. +32-(0)16.32.35.20 fax. +32-(0)16.32.35.01 email: [log in to unmask] URL: http://kadoc.kuleuven.be/ and http://www.migration-religion.be = _______________________________________________ Diaspora.fi http://www.diaspora.fi/ ------ End of Forwarded Message