Crossroads Asia conference on "Figurations of Mobility"

BMBF-funded competence network Crossroads Asia convened an international conference on ‘Figurations of Mobility’ in Berlin on November 22-24. Lead organizer of the conference was the Central Asian Seminar at the Institute of Asian and African Studies, Humboldt-University Berlin. ZEF hosts the coordination office of Crossroads Asia and four ZEF senior researches are working in the network.

With the aim to rethink area studies through the lens of Norbert Elias’ figurational sociology, spatial and social mobility related to conflict, migration, and development – and in line with Crossroads Asia’s research foci – formed the thematic core of the conference. Thus, the conference provided a forum to discuss theoretical advantages and shortcomings of figurational sociology, and elaborate key concepts such as networks and translocality linked to various forms of mobility. In doing so, the conference brought together scientists from the regions of particular interest to the competence network, ranging from Central to South and East Asia, from America and Europe, as well as from diverse disciplinary backgrounds. The interdisciplinary and international environment of the conference particularly enabled lively discussions, which were further nurtured by a mix of theoretical panels endorsed by empirical case studies from across the world.

Conrad Schetter, acting director of ZEF, chaired the kick-off panel on figurational analysis within the context of area studies, with panelists from area, and post-area studies competence networks and centers with different geographical scopes than Crossroads Asia. Anna-Katharina Hornidge, senior researcher at ZEF and scientific coordinator of Crossroads Asia, chaired two panels on framing migration in state and non-state contexts.

The next larger international Crossroads Asia conference will be held in summer 2013 in Bonn; this time focusing on the interface of religion and social order.

For further details, please contact network coordinator Anna-Katharina Hornidge.