At the time of writing, there are over 100 million people forcibly displaced worldwide. Such
displacements, in many cases, are rooted in political conflicts, war and natural disasters
caused by eco-crises. It is predicted that these figures will continue to rise in the coming
years. These conditions have catalysed instability for many – or what we term ‘global
turbulence’. This turbulence creates unsafety and influences how people experience a
sense belonging in old and new spaces.
During turbulent times, societal structures that produce inequality become more
pronounced locally, nationally, and globally due to economic, social, political, and
ecological upheavals. These processes intensify conflicts particularly when they are
weaponised by far right and anti-immigration movements that have strengthened across
Europe.
The ETMU 2024 conference reflects on what happens in these ‘storms’, especially from the
perspectives of migration and minoritized groups. The contributions may consider, for
example, how nationalism and populism have affected human migration and associated
meanings, or how human mobility shapes global mobility hierarchies. We aim to explore
what hopeful engagements in turbulent times are and could be through the entanglement
of knowledge, art, and action. Together these contribute to building alternative futures.
We invite sessions to explore the conference theme and related topics around (but not
limited to) migration, mobility, eco-crisis, eco-social justice, trans/nationalism,
populism, safety, belonging, displacement, racialization, intersectionality and human
and minority rights. We also encourage methods-based sessions exploring themes, for
example, such as the ethics of migration research and methods of knowledge co-creation.
The sessions can be, for instance, traditional academic proposals or creative/arts-based workshops. Session conveners will be responsible for reviewing and selecting abstracts for
their workshops and facilitating the presentations of their contributors.
Please consider the following when writing and submitting your session proposal:
• Describe the topic of your session in approximately 250 words.
• Offer examples of the kind of topics you would like to discuss in your session.
• Keep the description open and inviting for a variety of approaches, perspectives, and
genres.
• Where possible, draw connections to the conference theme.
• State the language policy of your session, and if possible, invite multiple languages.
• Submit your proposal here by April 21, 2024.
• The ETMU 2024 organizing team will make a decision on the sessions for the conference
by the end of April 2024.
• The call for paper submissions to accepted sessions will open on May 6, 2024.
Keynote speakers:
Javiera Marchant Aedo, Equity activist
Kirsi Pauliina Kallio, Professor (Tampere University)
Liisa Malkki, Professor (Stanford University)
Sohail Jannesari, Lecturer (Brighton and Sussex Medical School)
Please also visit the conference website! Do not hesitate to contact us
(etmuconference2024@tuni.fi) if you have any questions!
We look forward to hearing from you!
The ETMU Conference 2024 organising team
Maria Petäjäniemi, Mervi Kaukko, Luke Macaulay, Nelli Piattoeva, Riikka Era, Iida Kallio,
Fath E Mubeen, Nick Haswell and Camila Da Rosa Ribeiro
Image: Unsplash Leon Contreras