FINAL Call for papers: RGS-IBG Annual International Conference

Cardiff University, 28–31 August 2018

 

‘Sanctuary and birthing at the borders’

 

Conveners: Jen Bagelman (Exeter) and Sydney Calkin (Durham)

Sponsored by the Political Geography Research Group

 

As we witness the intensification of hostile border controls, we also witness people resisting these violent developments in powerful ways. This panel explores one powerful expression of resistance: the ‘sanctuary city.’ Though diverse, the underlying goal of this movement is to ensure that all residents, regardless of legal status, have safe access to local services. In order to concretize this ambition, many sanctuary cities are targeting specific service sectors—chief among them, health care. Through campaigns like #docsnotcops medical practitioners are being encouraged to fulfil their ‘do no harm’ oath by refusing to comply with exclusionary immigration law. Within this sanctuary context, our panel pays particular attention to the complex landscape of maternal migrant care. Our aim is to better understand the unique struggles facing migrant mothers with precarious status who are, at once, unfavorably positioned at the center of immigration debates, yet often rendered peripheral to basic care.

 

Relevant topics include:

 

  *   Bordering practices that govern pregnancy and childbirth

  *   Sanctuary spaces specifically focused on reproduction

  *   Sanctuary discourses mobilized on other reproductive issues

  *   Efforts to control/ govern migrants’ child-rearing and social reproduction practices

 

Format: We especially welcome participants involved in sanctuary activism, and people who identify as having personal and lived expertise in this area. Contributions can take various shape: song, dance, poetry, or paper…

 

Submitting an abstract: Please send a short abstract (200-300 words) to [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> and [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>  by Friday, February 9th 2018