Workshop - Call for Papers

Critical Approaches to Internal Displacement

Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford

30 June & 1 July 2008

The post-Cold War period has seen the rapid emergence of the internally 
displaced person as an object of international humanitarian concern. 
Transformations in state sovereignty and the nature of warfare, a 
shifting global order and the construction of a new humanitarian 
architecture have all served to make the internal displacement of people 
within their own borders one of the most important political issues of 
the early 21st century.

To date however, much of the research on internal displacement has been 
policy focused, and there is a significant lack of research that 
proceeds from a critical perspective. This workshop seeks to address 
this gap by bringing together analysts who examine internal displacement 
by using tools derived from critical theory, social theory, critical 
geography, anthropology, political economy and critical legal studies. 
The aim of the workshop is twofold: 1) to show the value that a critical 
perspective can bring to the examination of internal displacement, and 
2) to investigate what it means to be ‘critical’ in doing such research.

The Refugee Studies Centre at the University of Oxford will host this 
two-day event, which will take place on the 31st June and the 1st July 
2008, and invites potential participants to submit presentation 
abstracts on any subject that addresses internal displacement from a 
broadly critical perspective. Abstracts should be no more than 300 words 
long and should be submitted no later than the 21st April 2008 to the 
workshop convener [log in to unmask] Participants will be 
expected to cover their own costs for attending this event, though some 
limited funding maybe available for those who would otherwise be unable 
to attend. Priority will be given to those from the Global South.

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