“We are now in the middle of a deep and decisive moment towards a more disciplinary, authoritarian kind of society,” says Stuart Hall in his speech for Human Rights Day in 1979 (78). He proceeds to explain the components and manifestations of this “crisis,” which eventually morphs into a drive for more “Law and Order” (79). If that was the middle, are we at the end of the crisis? Our daily experiences prove otherwise, as the drive for more Law and Order keeps us in a chokehold. We seem to be in a perpetual global crisis in which we watch global systems of justice like international law and the International Criminal Court deteriorate in front of our eyes, while capitalist and genocidal systems globally continue to thrive and strengthen their hold. Mass displacement of people is and has always been the product of this global violence and oppression. 

In such a world, time and time again, the migrant and refugee have been put in a position where they need to narrate and reiterate their humanity to access rights. To echo Mai-Linh K. Hong, “all refugee politics – are story-driven” (2). The (hi)story of the displaced, is the (hi)story of our “crisis” because it reveals not only the crisis of humanitarian regimes, but also rights, states, nations, law and all the other organizing systems. In line of this, this seminar asks, what do migrant and refugee world-making and storytelling mean in times of humanitarian crisis? Papers are encouraged to discuss nation-states and humanitarian regimes, with a specific focus on refugee rights and stories, historical legacies of colonialism, and genocide. Through discussion and collective thinking, this seminar will seek to articulate novel ways of examining (forced) migration and border imperialism, and global capitalism. It will also consider the ways in which literature, arts, and media represent and narrate the intersections of (forced) migration and race, gender, and class. 

Papers may address issues such as:

Forced displacement across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia in literature, media, and arts

Representations of displacement, exile, and migration in literature, media, and arts

Representations of human rights and humanitarian regimes in literature, media, and arts

Representations of gender, class, disability, race, and ethnicity in relation to displacement, migration, and resettlement in literature, media, and arts

Violence of (forced) migration, humanitarianism, and liberal democracy 

Critique and commentary on nation-states, border imperialism, and global capitalism in relation to migration and refugees

Representations of healing, solidarity, belonging, and community in literature, media, and arts