International Conference “Superdiversity: Theory, Method and Practice”, University of Birmingham (23-24.06. 2014)

Key Speakers: 

  • Professor Jan Blommaert, Babylon Centre for the Study of Superdiversity, University of Tilberg, The Netherlands. 
  • Professor Peggy Levitt, Wellesey College, USA. 
  • Professor James Nazroo, The Cathie Marsh Centre for Census and Survey Research, University of Manchester, UK. 
  • Professor Gill Valentine, University of Sheffield, UK. 
  • Professor Steven Vertovec, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity, Gottingen, Germany. 



With the unprecedented speed, scale and spread of global migration, academics have an important role in developing new methods, advancing theoretical understanding and producing empirically informed knowledge about the emergence of superdiversity. The Institute for Research into Superdiversity the University of Birmingham are organising the first international interdisciplinary conference on superdiversity. The conference will be held at University of Birmingham on the 23rd and 24th June 2014. It will feature invited plenaries, academic panels and a policy roundtable on topics at the forefront of the superdiversity research agenda. The aim of the conference is to map the state of the art in knowledge on superdiversity and 
to draw an agenda for future research. We welcome academics from a broad range of disciplines, including anthropology, sociology, social policy, geography, linguistics, history, psychology, economics, medicine, demography, politics, and development studies, policy makers and practitioners to submit innovative papers, 
panel proposals or posters on any aspect related to superdiversity. Doctoral researchers are welcome to submit their work. The conference will be an opportunity for meeting fellow PhD students and senior academics working on superdiversity. 

The conference will include parallel sessions on: 
  • Migration processes, transnational practices, and globalization 
  • Patterns and experiences of space and place 
  • Interchanges, interactions and encounters 
  • Immigration regimes, rights and belonging
  • Discrimination, segregation and inclusion 
  • Hybridity, representations and belonging 
  • Communication, language and media 
  • Policy, planning and service delivery 
  • Research methods and approaches 
  • Markets, finance and opportunity 
  • Art, culture and history 
  • Faith, religion and spirituality 
  • Health and healthcare 
  • New demographies 

Abstracts should be submitted electronically at:
The deadline for submitting an abstract is: 10th December 2013.

Please read the “Call for papers” for further details:

For any queries, please visit contact: Ann Bolstridge, IRiS manager: a.bolstridge@bham.ac.uk or visit www.birmingham.ac.uk/iris