International Conference
(Anti-)racism and critical interventions in Europe
Social sciences, policy developments and social movements
19-20 February 2013
Venue: CIUL Auditorium (Picoas Plaza, Lisbon)
Free registration: www.ces.uc.pt
(English-Portuguese translation services will be made available)
In contemporary Europe, we are witnessing the vanishing of anti-racism from political cultures and academic discourses, in favour of an approach that intervenes on immigrants and minorities themselves via public rhetoric on integration.
This conference will thus bring together an international community engaging in debates on racism and anti-racism to discuss the analytical approaches and main findings of the European research project TOLERACE - The semantics of tolerance and (anti-)racism in Europe: public bodies and civil society in comparative perspective, coordinated by the Centre for Social Studies.
The debate will focus on key issues that bring about an in-depth analysis of racism and anti-racism, such as the historical legacies of national formation processes and colonialism, contemporary political developments in European contexts, and the role of academia and social organisations in policy advice.
The event is intended as an opportunity to engage with policymakers, academics, political activists, journalists and stakeholders at local, national and European levels, discussing the difficulties of addressing racism in contemporary European contexts, as well as to propose a way forward by identifying approaches and key areas in which a sound debate on anti-racism can be constructed.
19 February
Opening Session
9:30-10:00 Welcome and Registration
10:00-11:00
Critical interventions in contemporary politics in Europe: the future of an anti-racist agenda
Chair: Maria Paula Meneses (Centro de Estudos Sociais).
Boaventura de Sousa Santos (CES)
Louisa Anastopoulou (EC project officer) – to be confirmed
Silvia Maeso (CES)
Marta Araújo (CES)
11:00-12:00
Keynote address: Jorge Sampaio (UN High Representative for Alliance of Civilizations).
Lunch break
14:00-16:30
The vanishing of anti-racism within policy developments in education and employment
Chair: Frank Peter (European University Viadrina/U. of Bern).
Presentation of TOLERACE case studies:
Marta Araújo (Centro de Estudos Sociais): “The ‘prudent integration’ of the Roma/Gypsies: Racism, school segregation and white flight”
María Martínez (Universidad del País Vasco): “From the racial question to the social question: avoiding (anti)-racism in the Basque educational system”
Tina Jensen (The Danish National Centre for Social Research): “Discrimination and Employment in Denmark: ‘Old’ and ‘New’ Immigrant Groups”
Salman Sayyid (CERS, University of Leeds): “Muslims in the labour market in the UK: Leeds and Leicester”
Comments:
Eva Smith-Asmussen (U. of Copenhagen/ECRI) and Robert Rustem (European Roma and Travellers Forum).
Discussion
17:00-18:00
Keynote address
David T. Goldberg (University of California, Irvine): “Postracial Conditions”
20 February
9:30-11:30
The politics of representation: (anti-)racism and the media
Chair: Ian Law (CERS, University of Leeds)
Presentation of TOLERACE case studies:
Simona Pagano (European University Viadrina, Frankfurt): “Chasing the gypsy, immolating the gypsy, securing the city: Roma and ‘nomad camps’ in the Italian media”
Ángeles Castaño (Universidad de Sevilla): “Cultural diversity in the media: immigration, education and Islam in Andalusia”
Hakan Tosuner (European University Viadrina, Frankfurt): “Female Victims - Male Perpetrators. Representation of the Muslim ‘other’ in the German media”.
Comments: Nadia Fadil (University of Leuven).
11:45-13:00: Documentary “Era uma vez um arrastão”/ “The Beach Rampage That Never Was”, Diana Andringa (2005)
Presentation by the documentary’s director
Discussion
Lunch Break
14:30- 15:30
Keynote address
Ramón Grosfoguel (University of California, Berkeley): Decolonizing Epistemic Racism/Sexism in Europe Today: “The Decolonial Perspective of Boaventura de Sousa Santos and Frantz Fanon in the Context of Decolonial European Struggles”.
16:00-18:00
Round table: The state, academia and policy advice: better horizons?
Chair: Silvia Maeso (CES)
Opening intervention: Kwame Nimako (University of Amsterdam)
Discussion:
Javier Sáez (Fundación Secretariado Gitano)
Arzu Merali (Islamic Human Rights Commission)
Mamadou Ba (SOS Racismo)
Sandew Hira (International Institute for Scientific Research)
18:30-19:30
Closing keynote address: Pedro Bacelar de Vasconcelos (Universidade do Minho).
web
On the 23rd and 24th May, the Centre for Social Studies will hold an International Conference to present and discuss the main findings of the project ‘Race’ and Africa in Portugal: a study on history textbooks, funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). The conference aims at constructing a historically-informed debate on Eurocentrism and racism, bringing together international scholars that work on a diversity of approaches and disciplines, namely History, Anthropology, Political Sociology, International Relations, Sociolinguistics. Focusing on the politics of history and education, the conference will move the debate beyond the positivistic framings that have been characteristic of contemporary understandings of national identity, racism and knowledge in (post-)colonial Europe.
