CALL FOR PAPERS
FORCED MIGRATION: CHALLENGES AND CHANGE

3rd Annual Conference of the
Canadian Association for Refugee and Forced Migration Studies (CARFMS)

Hosted by the Institute on Globalization and the Human Condition
McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario
May 6-8, 2010

In recent years, the idea of change has charged political debate in  
countries around the world and has, in some cases, catalyzed the  
election of new governments and the creation of innovative programs  
and policies. This period has also been one of significant change for  
the field of forced migration.  New policies and increasingly  
securitized perceptions of forced migration have created new practices  
such as interdiction, detention and expedited deportation that have  
changed the protection landscape in both the global North and South.  
At the same time as scholars have questioned the labelling and  
bureaucratic categorization of forced migrants, the United Nations has  
piloted new approaches to improve the protection and assistance  
available to members of traditionally marginalized “categories”,  
particularly internally displaced persons. Massive displacement in the  
wake of Hurricane Katrina and Cyclone Nargis raised the profile of  
“environmental refugees” as an issue predicted to grow in importance  
as the impacts of climate change become increasingly evident. In  
Canada, the government has recently announced that it is preparing a  
package of changes to the refugee determination system, including the  
fast-tracking of claims from countries that are generally considered  
safe. As a precursor to more sweeping anticipated changes, the  
government has already imposed visa requirements on Mexico and the  
Czech Republic in an attempt to stem the flow of refugee claimants  
from those countries.

The 2010 CARFMS Conference will bring together researchers,  
policymakers, displaced persons and advocates from diverse  
disciplinary and regional backgrounds to discuss the changes and  
challenges faced in the field of forced migration.  We invite  
participants from a wide range of perspectives to explore the  
practical, experiential, policy-oriented, legal and theoretical  
questions raised by different processes of change affecting forced  
migrants at the local, national, regional and international levels.   
The conference will feature keynote and plenary speeches from leaders  
in the field, and we welcome proposals for individual papers and  
organized panels structured around the following broad sub-themes:

Asylum, protection and durable solutions: Needs, current practices and  
prospects for reform
Calls for reform of national and international refugee protection  
systems have been raised in different quarters, with dramatically  
diverse visions for change.  What are the key challenges facing  
advocates, policymakers and displaced communities and individuals?   
How have trends in the interception, interdiction, processing,  
detention, deportation, protection, settlement and integration of  
forced migrants shaped prospects for reform? What models might inform  
the productive reform of the Canadian refugee system? What role might  
scholars play in efforts to strengthen the protection of forced  
migrants and the effective resolution of displacement?

Theorizing the changing field of forced migration
Past decades have seen rapid development – domestically and  
internationally – in the study of refugee protection and forced  
migration both within traditional disciplines and across disciplinary  
lines.  With such significant change in research and policy in recent  
years, the longer view – both to the past and to the future – cannot  
be neglected.  What is the nature of refugee protection in a  
globalized world, and how is it important (or not) to consider the  
“new” era?  What have been the historical trajectories of laws,  
policies and practices in forced migration, and how can the  
historicization of the field advance understandings of change and  
contemporary challenges?  How have different disciplines,  
methodologies and approaches affected our understandings?  Finally,  
what role is there for actors outside of academia, from policymakers  
and refugee advocates to displaced persons themselves?

Experiencing displacement: Changes and challenges
How have recent political and social changes, and changes in the  
structure and operation of the refugee regime affected the lives of  
displaced persons? What can scholars of forced migration learn about  
the contemporary reality of the refugee regime by focusing on the  
lived experience of displaced individuals and communities? In this  
section, we particularly welcome presentations by displaced  
individuals, advocates, and organizations working directly with forced  
migrants.

Pre-conference workshops/networking
A number of pre-conference workshops and networking sessions will take  
place on the afternoon of May 5. More information on pre-conference  
workshops/session will be available on conference website in mid-fall  
2009.

SUBMISSION OF ABSTRACTS
Individuals wishing to present a paper at the conference must submit a  
250-word abstract by January 29, 2010.  The conference organizers  
welcome submissions of both individual papers and proposals for panels.

CARFMS is applying for SSHRC funding for the conference. The  
application is due on November 1, 2009 and must contain a sample of  
submitted abstracts and presenters’ CVs.  To assist in the process of  
applying for SSHRC funding, we strongly encourage early submission of  
abstracts by October 12, 2009.  All early submissions must include a  
250-word abstract of the paper and the presenter’s CV.  The CV is  
required only for the purposes of CARFMS’s SSHRC application.

Please submit your abstract via the conference website: http://carfmsconference.yorku.ca/ 
.  For more information, please contact Heather Johnson [log in to unmask] 
. If you are applying before October 12, 2009, please send your CV to  
Heather Johnson at [log in to unmask]

*Please send replies to: [log in to unmask]*


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