Announcing! MA Race, Migration and Decolonial Studies Artist in Residence 2020-2021 is Rajinder Singh

‘Decolonising the Body, Decolonising the Mind’ - Rajinder Singh is the UCD MA Race, Migration and Decolonial Studies Artist in Residence 2020-2021

Rajinder Singh:

'Choreography is a score for a bodily or movement practice that purveys a politics. Through choreography, power relations and ideological effects can be rendered visible. My work with choreography enters domains beyond the aesthetic, and to me any piece of choreography can be seen as the product of choices that represent the social and political consequences of a given action.

'I am interested in how choreography and the moving body create conditions of resistance to different hegemonic regimes such as colonialism and capitalism as well as magico-religious belief systems. I think of the intercultural encounter as performative, as a choreographed activity. And I think of any kind of oppression or discrimination as a type of choreopolicing -- a prevention of any formation or expression of the political. How do choreopolitics interact with the choreopolicing of oppression within/during any intercultural encounter? Using choreographic practice as a frame of reference, can new resonances be developed through the innovative spirit of creative praxes to sensitise the body to meaningful intercultural encounters?

'In this residency, I will be exploring questions like:

• How does the project of 'decolonising the mind' relate to the project of 'decolonising the body'?
• What are the possibilities of other ways of thinking about interculturality through the bodypolitics of knowledge?
• Is it possible to learn from the movements of the Other in an intercultural encounter?'

You can learn more about Rajinder's work on his website.

The MA Race, Migration and Declolonial programme is run by Assistant Professor Alice Feldman at the UCD School of Sociology.  A Graduate Diploma is also available.  More information on the programme and subject matter can be found through the UCD programme info page and the   programme website.

If you're interested in speaking to someone about applying please contact:

Lucia Suchorova
lucia.suchorova@ucd.ie
Masters Programme Administrator
+353 1 716 8674
​
Alice Feldman, Programme Coordinator
alice.feldman@ucd.ie

Go to the link at the bottom of this page to apply.

UCD Sociology's Barbara Gornicka and Mark Doyle awarded SPARK funding for Sex-Ed project

The Sex Ed you wish you had: towards better sexual health, enjoyment and empowerment in UCD. The project has two overarching aims:

1. To give UCD students the knowledge and skills they need to make informed choices about their non-involvement or involvement in sexual activity that will support their happiness, health and wellbeing.
2. To build responsible and respectful attitudes towards gender and sexuality.

These aims will be realised by developing and delivering workshops that will educate and inform students in a range of issues pertinent to sex, sexuality and sexual identity.

Recent academic research and available sexual health data indicates that younger people have significant knowledge gaps regarding sexual health contributing to increased rates of sexually transmitted infections (EMIS, 2019; Courtenay, 2019). Sexual consent is also an important topic for younger people, with many lacking appropriate understandings of how to negotiate their consent (O’Higgins, 2010). These gaps in knowledge are not surprising in the Irish context given the paucity of sex education in Irish secondary schools. Though some sex education is provided, it is yet to be provided in an inclusive and accessible manner where younger people are empowered to make positive choices regarding their sexuality. An effect of this being, students commencing third level education where they may lack the necessary literacy to make informed and safe choices. Technological change is also defining younger people's sexual experiences and opening up new risks. However, this can be countered with appropriate training.

In an effort to tackle the issues listed above, we are proposing a series of workshops that will be held from January - April 2020:

1. Sexual Health
2. Porn Literacy
3. Digital Dating, Sex and Safety

These workshops are a pilot before up-scaling and hopefully becoming an important part of the UCD student experience. The end result will be a student body who have greater awareness about their decision making. The workshops will be an open, safe and non-judgmental space underpinned by an ethos of empowerment. The workshops are interactive and participatory with discussions, quizzes as well as practical activities. This creates varied sessions which hold the interest of the young participants and increase their ability to integrate their awareness.

To find out more about this project, you can contact the project lead: barbara.gornicka@ucd.ie

New Publication by Prof Steven Loyal and Sinisa Malesevic - 'The Sociology of Randall Collins'

We are delighted to announce that Professors Steven Loyal and Sinisa Malesevic of School of Sociology have recently edited a special issue of Thesis Eleven - 'The Sociology of Randall Collins' which has just been published: https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/thea/current on Thesis Eleven.

The other contributors are Michael Mann, Barry Barnes, Anthony King, Lea David, Su-Ming Khoo, Ralph Schroder and Randal Collins responds to all the papers in teh volume. Click here for more information now!

Social Circus as international Encounter

The School of Sociology is delighted to announce the start of a new Erasmus Plus project in the field of Education, Training and Youth promoting intercultural dialogue, cultural diversity and social inclusion through development of innovative arts- and research-based training for social circus trainers working with youth from migrant, refugee and ethnic minority backgrounds.

For more information, see https://www.racemigrationdecolonialstudies.com/current-event

Prof Andreas Hess has published his new edition : Between Utopia and Realism

Professor Andreas Hess (UCD Sociology) has published his new edition together with Samantha Ashenden (UL). The book is titled “Between Utopia and Realism”

The essays collected in Between Utopia and Realism reflect on and refract Shklar's major preoccupations throughout a lifetime of thinking and demonstrate the ways in which her work illuminates contemporary debates across political theory, international relations, and law. Contributors address Shklar's critique of Cold War liberalism, interpretation of Montaigne and its connection to her genealogy of liberal morals, lectures on political obligation, focus on cruelty, and her late reflections on exile. Others consider her role as a legal theorist, her interest in literary tropes and psychological experience, and her famed skepticism.

Between Utopia and Realism showcases Shklar's approach to addressing the intractable problems of social life. Her finely honed political skepticism emphasized the importance of diagnosing problems over proffering excessively optimistic solutions. As this collection makes clear, her thought continues to be useful in addressing cruelty, limiting injustice, and combating the cynicism of the present moment.

The book will be released by University of Pennsylvania Press and for more information please see link below:

https://www.upenn.edu/pennpress/book/16034.html

Prof. Malesevic interviewed by Al Jazeera for International Day of Peace

Prof Sinisa Malešević interviewed by Al Jazeera Balkans TV Programme and commemorating the international day of peace (21st September 2019). The topic of this TV debate was ‘War and Peace in the Contemporary World’.

Roland Adorjani starts job as senior research specialist at Princeton University

Our PhD student Roland Adorjani (supervised by Associate Professor Thomas Grund) just started a new job as senior research specialist at Princeton University. Roland will work with political scientists on social media and fake news during the US presidential elections 2020. Good luck Roland!

Create and Carlow Arts Festival Artist Residency Recipient: Chinedum Muotto

Create and Carlow Arts Festival are delighted to announce Chinedum Muotto as the successful recipient of a residency award, to precede and coincide with the festival, 4-9 June 2019. Chinedum is one of our Masters students on the Race Migration and Decolonial Studies programme.

http://www.create-ireland.ie/aic-residencies/create-and-carlow-arts-festival-artist-residency-recipient-chinedum-muotto

UCD/TCD Joint Lecture ' Empires in World History' by Prof. Krishan Kumar and book launch by Siniša Malešević ‘Grounded Nationalisms'

Prof Krishan Kumar (University of Virginia) will present a Joint UCD-TCD Public Lecture at 5pm  - D418 Newman Building, UCD, Belfield.

“Empires in World History”

Empire, as John Darwin has said, has been “the default mode” of political organization for most of human history. Why is that? Why are empires so ubiquitous? What has made them so persistent and long-lasting? Can we find any principles that link them as a universal phenomenon? Are there major differences between Eastern and Western empires? This talk will explore connections as well as divergences in the imperial experience. It will argue that there has been a “tradition” of empire, in the West, linking the empires in a chain of empires. But that has not meant that there has not been intensive interaction between empires across the globe, at least within the Eurasian landmass. Empire is a Eurasian phenomenon, even if not all empires have participated equally in Eurasian developments. This talk will seek to map those empires across Eurasia, and to examine interconnections.

After the lecture the new book by Siniša Malešević ‘Grounded Nationalisms: A Sociological Analysis’ will be launched by Prof Krishan Kumar. The book launch will take place after the lecture at 6.30pm also in - D418 Newman Building, UCD, Belfield.

Here is more information about the book: 

https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/grounded-nationalisms/5680546377BA81E1E43235C71F17C4ED#fndtn-information

Passing of our colleague Diane Payne

The School of Sociology is sorry to announce the passing of our colleague Diane Payne.

Diane was Head of the School during 2014-17 and has long been the Deputy Director of the Geary Institute. She also pioneered many initiatives such as the MSc in Social Data Analytics, the PhD in Complex Systems and Computational Social Science and the new undergraduate programme in Computational Social Science. Recently she hosted the European Social Simulation Association Annual Conference in UCD in 2017.

We will mourn her loss. Our thoughts are with her family at this time.

Seminar Tomorrow - Intersecting Decolonialities: Peace-Building, Racial Justice & Queer Feminist Faultlines

The next seminar in our series is by Chamindra Weerawardhana

'Intersecting Decolonialities: Peace-Building, Racial Justice & Queer Feminist Faultlines'

Tuesday, 16 April, 4pm, J208, Newman Building

Recent publication of research conducted by PhD student Travis Tatum

One of our PhD students Travis Tatum  has recently had some research published in the Irish Medical Journal on polypharmacy. The research was conducted by Dr Travis Tatum and colleagues at the UCD Geary Institute for Public Policy, University College Dublin, as well as Dr Philip Curry of the School of Social Work and Social Policy at Trinity College Dublin and Prof Kathleen Bennett of the RCSI Population and Health Sciences at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.
Below is the link to the original paper and a newspaper article and radio interview addressing the research.

Link to the original paper: http://imj.ie/polypharmacy-rates-among-patients-over-45-years/

News:

https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/health-news/irish-pensioners-women-poor-people-14220062 

 

Radio interview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdwTV1LIYLg&feature=youtu.be 

School of Sociology Seminar Series: 'Framing Fortress Europe: A Literary Intervention' - Britta Jung

The next seminar in our series is by Britta Jung

'Framing Fortress Europe: A Literary Intervention' 

Thursday, 11 April, 1pm, D418, Newman Building

While mobility has always been part of human activity and can be traced back to the dispersing of archaic and modern humans across the continents some two million years ago, the advent of the modern nation-state in the 18^th and 19^th century and the rise of nationalism in the late 19^th and early 20^th century have transformed the migration process and subjected migratory flows to substantial regulation. As a result, the (migrant) Other has increasingly been framed as a threat to national security and social harmony, either in moral, social or political; or indeed in ethnic, racial or religious terms. Despite a general embrace of liberal values and the adoption of a legally binding UN-convention regarding the elimination of racial discrimination in 1969, the idea of institutionally targeting specific immigrant groups to avoid a so-called ‘race suicide’ maintains its populist appeal and resurfaces in times of crisis to this day.

In the aftermath of 9/11 – and more recently terrorist attacks in European capitals such as Paris, London, Berlin and Madrid – on the one hand, and the financial crisis and the global refugee crisis on the other hand, hitherto celebrated visions of multi-, inter- and transculturalism have become less optimistic and more guarded in recent years. Mainstream parties are divided on how to respond to the marked shift in public discourse, which is echoed in the rise nationalist movements and right-wing populist parties. After decades of publicly and diplomatically pursuing policies of both integration and inclusion vis-à-vis migrant communities, local and national government policies in Europe seem to increasingly enable nationalist discourses by banning and stigmatising migrants from the Middle East and Africa as a deviant Other. Ostensibly established (trans)national spaces, borders and boundaries are being once again put up for reconsideration, with border controls within the Schengen-Area being temporarily reintroduced and an increasing fortification of the EU’s external borders. This talk seeks to explore the way literary works engage with the Fortress Europe in its newest, post-war iteration. After all, literary works are not only representations of specific social worlds, but – more often than not – conjure up possible, idealised and/or alternative worlds which may affect the extra-literary world. They are – or can be – an important intervention.

Britta C. Jung is an IRC Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the UCD Humanities Institute. Her project ‘Contested Identities. A Comparative Study of the Migrant Experience in Contemporary German, Dutch and Irish Literature’ addresses – among other things – the urgent need to critically (re)examine the terms of the migration debate, including collective and national identity, belonging, displacement and transnationalism. Additionally, Dr Jung is currently conducting a comprehensive study on behalf of the Higher Education Authority and Léargas regarding the attitudes toward and learning experience of foreign languages in the context of Erasmus+ in Ireland.

Dr Jung’s PhD was jointly awarded by the University of Groningen, Netherlands, and the University of Limerick in November 2015. She has published extensively in the areas of German Holocaust Studies and Youth Literature. Her German-language monograph on the transnational turn of the German memory discourse was published by Vandenhoek & Ruprecht in October 2018 and a coedited volume on the literary representation of the Central and Eastern European borderlands is due for publication in summer 2019.

Islamophobia and 'Intersectional Stereotyping' and in the Mass media’s representation of Migrant Muslim men in Germany - Seminar by Dr. Iris Wigger

The next seminar in our series is by Iris Wigger

'Islamophobia and 'Intersectional Stereotyping' and in the Mass media’s representation of Migrant Muslim men in Germany'

Thursday, 4 April, 1pm, D418, Newman Building

Bio

Dr Iris Wigger studied Sociology at the University of Hamburg and the University of Essex after completing a vocational training as a social worker. She works as a lecturer in Sociology in the School of Social Sciences at Loughborough University and is a new Visiting Assistant Professor in Sociology at University College Dublin (2018-2013).

Iris was Programme Director for Sociology at Loughborough between 2013- 2015 and external examiner in Sociology at the University of Northampton (2014-2016). Before coming to Loughborough, she was a temporary lecturer in the School of Sociology at University College Dublin and a Research Associate at the History Department of the University of Hamburg. Iris became a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in 2011. Her research interests are in historical sociology and racism analysis, migration discourses, nationalism and imperialism, social theory, stereotyping and the History of Ideas. She has written on the sociology of racism, intersectionality and the History of Ideas and was awarded a Research Grant by the British Academy/Leverhulme Trust for her research project: ‘The end of tolerance?! Race, Sex and Violence in Germany’s media discourse on migration’ (2017-2018).

Her publications include 

‘Anti-Muslim racism and the racialisation of sexual violence: Intersectional stereotyping in the Mass Media’s representation of male Muslim migrants in Germany’ (2019), under review with Culture and Religion; ‘Wigger, I and Yendell, A The end of tolerance?! Race, sex, religion and violence in Germany’s media discourse on migration (2019), under review with Immigrant and Refugee Studies; Wigger, I. (2017). The 'Black Horror on the Rhine. Intersections of Race, Nation, Gender and Class in 1920s Germany '. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK; Wigger, I (2014), Ein eigenartiges Volk. Die Ethnisierung des Zigeunerstereotyps im Spiegel von Enzyklopädien und Lexika [The racialisation of the gypsy stereotype in encyclopaedias and dictionaries]. In: W.D. Hund, ed, Faul, fremd und frei. Dimensionen des Zigeunerstereotyps. Munster, Westf: Unrast, 44-69; I. Wigger, S. Ritter (eds.): Racism and Modernity. Edited collection in honour of Wulf D. Hund, 2012; A 'Race' in the Making. Robert Knox and the Racialisation of the Irish in Nineteenth Century British Anthropology, in I. Wigger, S. Ritter (eds.): Racism and Modernity, 2012, 131-148; 'Black Shame' - the campaign against 'racial degeneration' and female degradation in interwar Europe, RACE & CLASS (2010); and Wigger, I, Klein, K, Bruder Mohr. Angelo Soliman und der Rassismus der Aufklaerung. [Brother Moor. Angelo Soliman and the Racism of the Enlightenment] in Wulf D. Hund (ed) Entfremdete Koerper. Rassismus als Leichenschaendung [Alienated Bodies. Racism as Body Snatching], 2009, 81-115

More Information: http://www.ucd.ie/sociology/newsandevents/seminarsconferencesandevents/

Congratulations to our Sociology students who were honoured at the President's Awards Day.

We would like to extend a huge Congratulations to the following Sociology students who were honoured a few weeks back at the President's Awards Day.
These awards acknowledge scholarships and prizes won by students, based on the results of their work during the previous academic year, well done to:
Sarah Fahy who won the Barry Foley Prize
Michael William Foley who was awarded the Patrick Clancy Award 
Gerard Bracken who was awarded the Mary Kelly Award. 

To find out more about these School prizes please visit the Study Awards section of our website.

A new book ‘Grounded Nationalisms: A Sociological Analysis’ by Professor Siniša Malešević has just published by Cambridge University Press.

A new book ‘Grounded Nationalisms: A Sociological Analysis’ by Professor Siniša Malešević has just published by Cambridge University Press. 

Book description

Globalisation is not the enemy of nationalism; instead, as this book shows, the two forces have developed together through modern history. Malešević challenges dominant views which see nationalism as a declining social force. He explains why the recent escalations of populist nationalism throughout the world do not represent a social anomaly but are, in fact, a historical norm. By focusing on ever-increasing organisational capacity, greater ideological penetration and networks of micro-solidarity, Malešević shows how and why nationalism has become deeply grounded in the everyday life of modern human beings. The author explores the social dynamics of these grounded nationalisms via an analysis of varied contexts, from Ireland to the Balkans. His findings show that increased ideological diffusion and the rising coercive capacities of states and other organisations have enabled nationalism to expand and establish itself as the dominant operative ideology of modernity.

More information is available on the Cambridge University Press page: 

https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/grounded-nationalisms/5680546377BA81E1E43235C71F17C4ED#fndtn-information

Sasha Huber - Artistic Renegotiations of Archive, Memory & Place: A critical exploration of decolonial aesthetics.

UCD School of Sociology Seminar Series 2018-2019

The next seminar in our series is by Sasha Huber

Artistic Renegotiations of Archive, Memory & Place: A critical exploration of decolonial aesthetics.

Monday, 25 February, 12-2 pm, Humanities Institute Seminar Room

Sasha Huber will be speaking about a selection of art projects relating to her long-term artistic research project that evolved through engagement with the cultural activist campaign Demounting Louis Agassiz, which has advocated for the renaming of Agassizhorn in the Swiss Alps to Rentyhorn, in honor of the Congolese-born enslaved man Renty and of those who met similar fates. Louis Agassiz (1807–1873) is celebrated in the history of science as an important glaciologist who was one of the discoverers of ice age theory. But, he also was one of the most influential proponents of 'scientific racism’ in his adoptive country, the United States of America from 1846. Agassiz studied and photographed enslaved Africans in the places of their suffering and argued that they were innately inferior. He advocated strict racial segregation, ethnic cleansing, and government measures to prevent the birth of interracial children whom he considered unnatural.

Sasha Huber is a visual artist of Swiss-Haitian heritage, born in Zurich in 1975. She lives and works in Helsinki. She has participated in numerous international exhibitions, including the 56th la Biennale di Venezia in 2015, and the 19th Biennale of Sydney in 2014. She holds a MA from the University of Art and Design Helsinki, and is currently undertaking doctoral research on racism through the lens of art at the Department of Art at Aalto University, Helsinki . www.sashahuber.com

Applications for our PhD and Research Masters (MLitt) Programmes are now open.

School of Sociology Seminar Series 2018-2019

The next seminar in our school series will take place on Thursday 21st February at 1pm in room D418. We look forward to welcoming Priyamvada Gopal for a seminar is entitled 'Black Self-Representation and Organising in London' Tea and coffee will be served and all are welcome to bring lunch along to this seminar.

Information on the Marie Curie call for postdoctoral applications 2019

Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)

Overview:

On 11^th April 2019, the European Commission will open its call for applicants to the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF) scheme– both European Fellowship and Global Fellowship. In advance of this University College Dublin (UCD) is issuing a call for potential applicants who would like to partake in an internal pre-selection process. This process will enable potential applicants to: secure a host mentor and develop a competitive proposal. The process will be conducted by their proposed host School or Centre at UCD. The MSCA-IF call will close on the 11^th September 2019.

Eligibility:

Potential candidates should ensure that they fulfil the conditions of eligibility (pp 9-15), principally the ‘Mobility Rule’.

“The researcher cannot have resided or carried out his/her main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the beneficiary for more than 12 months in the three years immediately before the call deadline”.

Prospective applicants can either be:

Persons recently arrived at UCD/in Ireland		European Fellowship
Persons not resident Ireland	eligible for
UCD students seeking to be hosted abroad	eligible for	Global Fellowship

Application Process:

Potential candidates are instructed to make direct contact with a prospective supervisor at UCD, to ascertain their interest, willingness and ability to support an application to MSCA-IF. Once obtained the applicants are directed to forward the following to their interested, potential supervisor:

·         A two-page CV (work experience; publications; events organised; public engagement etc.)

·         A two-page research proposal

·         A short statement about why the UCD would be the best host institution for your research

Evaluation Process:

Step 1: Contacted member (Prospective Host Mentors) of UCD faculty will evaluate the competitiveness of applicants’ submissions

Step 2: If deemed competitive candidates will then be recommended to Head of School

Step 3: Heads of School will then decide whether to recommend them for support by UCD Research & Innovation

All successful nominations will then be referred to UCD Research & Innovation which will contact prospective applicants and provide them with information about the Proposal Development Supports to be offered ahead of the submission deadline of the 11^th September 2019.

Evaluation Parameters:

UCD will not accept any candidates that do not meet the MSCA-IF ‘Mobility Rule’ or do not have the explicit support of a member of the faculty and the Head of School. UCD’s decision to accept and support an applicant will be made based on an internal academic evaluation and the availability of suitable supervision. Priority is given to candidates whose profiles fit closely with existing interests and orientations at UCD.

Candidates will be informed of the results of this selection process by the end of March in order to commence the supports process.

Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)

2019 Timeline:

Month	Date	Activity
January	-	Online Call for Applicants for the 2019 MSCA-IF programme	-
February	-	Schools begin applicant recruitment and vetting process	Cohort development
March	5th	MSCA-IF information session by NCP; Vetting continues	Cohort development
April	1st	MSCA-IF information session by UCDR with speakers	Concept development with Mentors
	11th	Programme opens
	12th	UCDR MSCA-IF Help Pack issued
May	7th	MSCA Writing Workshop by UCDR	Concept development with Mentors
	13th	Career Development Workshop by UCD Careers
June	-	-	Applicant writing
July	15th-26th	1-2-1 sessions with applicants by UCDR	Applicant writing
		IUA MSCA-IF Handbook issued
August	12th-23rd	Draft assessment by UCDR	Applicant writing
September	-	-	Final amendments & Submission
	11th	Submission deadline	-

Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)

2019 UCDR Supports:

5th March, 1100-1300hrs, Location TBC

·         Introduction to MSCA-IF by Geraldine Canny (IUA), National Contact Point for MSCA, hosted by Paul Huddie (UCD)

·         (to be followed by information session on MSCA Society and Enterprise, 1400-1630hrs, hosted by Naoimh O'Connor (UCD Career Development)

1st April, 1400-1630hrs UCDR Boardroom

·         Introduction to MSCA-IF by Paul Huddie (UCDR), plus Q&A with MSCA mentor, fellows and evaluator

12th April, UCDR

·         2019 MSCA-IF Help Pack issued

7th May, 1000-1200hrs, UCDR Boardroom

·         Writing Workshop by Paul Huddie and Máire Coyle (UCDR)

13th May, 1100-1300hrs, UCDR Boardroom

·         Career Development Workshop by Naoimh O'Connor (UCD Career Development)

15th-26th July, UCDR

·         1-2-1 sessions with applicants

12th-23rd August, Draft applications review, UCDR