Program

The 2025 IMISCOE Spring Conference will feature keynote speeches, roundtable discussions and academic panels. In addition, these activities will provide a platform for scholars, policymakers, practitioners, and migrants themselves to exchange ideas, share research findings, and engage in meaningful discussions. The conference will also encourage interdisciplinary approaches, inviting scholars and experts from various fields and all social science disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, political science, economics, law, and migration studies.

This conference will be hybrid in nature and presenters can join online or in person. All participants and attendees are required to register.

Researching Irregular Migration: Ethics and Politics of Knowledge production on migrant irregularity

Tuesday, 18 March 2025, 11.30-13.00

Researching irregular migration inevitably raises a series of ethical, epistemological, and moral questions. What is the positionality of researchers? What is their social and political responsibility vis-à-vis their subjects? Does partisanship introduce bias and in what way? How to deal with uncertainty and obscurity? What are the implications of disclosing hidden practices? Who benefits? How is research evidence used and what kind of evidence is produced for what purpose? This roundtable will discuss these questions from different perspectives.

Panelists: 

• Christina Boswell (University of Edinburgh)
• Luin Goldring (York University)
• Michele Levoy (PICUM)
• Kira Williams (University of Toronto Scarborough)

Future Directions: Towards Comprehensive Research Approaches to Irregular Migration

Wednesday, 19 March 2025, 15.30-17.00

Description: This panel will reflect on the discussions held throughout the conference and explore future directions for research on irregular migration. It will emphasise the importance of comprehensive research approaches that consider the interconnectedness of irregular migration processes, governance, and integration, while being sensitive to contradictory, often conflictual processes and ethical dilemmas. The panellists will identify key priorities and strategies for future research, including relevant policy/political aspects from a scientific perspective. 

Panelists: 

• Tuba Bircan (Vrije Universiteit Brussels) 
• Marie McAuliffe (IOM) 
• Anila Noor (New Women Connectors) 
• Nando Sigona (University of Birmingham) 
• Martina Tazzioli (University of Bologna)