Bordering Society: Understanding and Reimagining migration, displacement and diversity in an age of rapid transformations – CALL FOR PROPOSALS

The Call for Proposals for individual papers, pre-organised panels and workshops for IRIS international conference to be held at The Exchange, University of Birmingham on 5-6 September 2024 is open. Deadline to submit proposal via the online portal is 27 March 2024. Rapidly shifting geopolitical alliances and power asymmetries in an increasingly multipolar landscape rekindle... Continue Reading →

13/03/2024 0

New report reveals real life experiences of Hong Kongers and Ukrainians in the UK under government’s ‘safe and legal humanitarian routes’

New report titled "Humanitarian Visas in a Hostile Environment" offers first-hand insights into the experiences of individuals arriving in the UK through the Hong Kong BN(O) and Ukraine visa schemes and shows that ‘significant concerns persist’ around the restrictions faced by visa beneficiaries. Researchers from the University of Birmingham and Lancaster University, draw on qualitative... Continue Reading →

08/02/2024 0

Conversations with Iris is back: Mariko Hayashi in conversation with Seb Rumsby

Mariko Hayashi, Executive Director at Southeast and East Asian Centre (SEEAC) talks to IRIS Seb Rumsby about the challenges facing Southeast and East migrants and diasporas based in the UK, before comparing post-Brexit UK with East Asian labour migration regimes to explore how policies lead to labour migrant exploitation and rights abuses and what can... Continue Reading →

06/02/2024 0

Citizenship tests as technologies of bordering: IRiS talk with Kamran Khan, Katie Tonkiss and Tendayi Bloom

Citizenship tests are much more than tests. They often represent forms of ‘linguistic borders’ to be negotiated. Drawing on a decade of work in this area, Dr Kamran Khan will theorise how these borders function beyond their educational role. Furthermore, he will use the concept of ‘becoming’ as a means to centre the individual and... Continue Reading →

06/12/2023 0

European migration governance of, for, and against crisis: Andrew Geddes in conversation with Michaela Benson and Nando Sigona

We are delighted to host Professor Andrew Geddes, director of Migration Policy Centre at the European University Institute, at IRiS. He has contributed seminal work on migration governance and the politics of immigration in Europe and globally and is uniquely positioned to reflect on the nexus between migration policy and governance in the age of... Continue Reading →

09/11/2023 0

IRIS Conversations on Migration, Citizenship and Coloniality

The programme of IRiS seminar series is out. We are hosting three exciting conversations with internationally renown scholars in the field. The seminars are free and open. Please email a.bolstridge@bham.ac.uk to reserve a place. We look forward to seeing many of you at the seminars! 24 October, 3.30-5pm, Gisbert Kapp, room 224 Thinking decoloniality through an... Continue Reading →

02/10/2023 0

The conversation continues: Nando Sigona speaks to Angelo Martins Jr about colonial legacies, social difference and migration

We are now in Series 4 of "Conversations with Iris" podcast/zoomcast. It began at the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic as a way to stay connected with friends and colleagues around the world and to understand the impact the pandemic was having on migration and migrants. We spoke to researchers, campaigners, civil society organisations, asylum... Continue Reading →

26/05/2023 0

What migrants think about the monarchy and Eurovision: new MIGZEN podcast out soon

Researchers from the University of Birmingham and Lancaster University discuss the often-unheard views of migrants in the UK and British citizens living abroad on the coronation of King Charles III, Eurovision and much more. Such views are featured in a new season of the popular podcast Who do we think we are? Dedicated to ‘Global... Continue Reading →

03/05/2023 3

Migration, displacement and diversity: the IRiS anthology is out

We are delighted to announce the publication of the IRiS anthology to mark the tenth anniversary of the University of Birmingham’s Institute for Research into Superdiversity (IRiS). A decade is an important milestone for a research centre. We wanted to take this opportunity to think collectively about past, present and future directions of research on... Continue Reading →

23/03/2023 0

Encountering Migration: Worlds Within and Worlds Without. In conversation with Michael Jackson

In this conversation, Birmingham Fellow Dr Jennifer Allsopp and Professor Michael Jackson from the Harvard Divinity School discuss the inter-relational aspects of migration research and how literature has informed their fieldwork both in terms of method and interpretation, from Sebold to Dante. In a wide-ranging and deeply personal discussion, they cover topics including the nexus... Continue Reading →

25/01/2023 0

The Age of Superdiversity