Michal Frankl and Lidia Zessin-Jurek participated at the Challenging Concepts in Refugee History workshop, organized at the University of Gothenburg, its Faculty of Humanities, and the project Outsiders Within: Internally Displaced Persons in Early Modern Europe (PI Sari Nauman), funded by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond and the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study. The workshop was co-organized by Sari Nauman (University of Gothenburg), Olof Blomqvist (University of Gothenburg), Susanne Lachenicht (Universität Bayreuth), Thomas Mareite (Universität Tübingen), and Megan Maruschke (Universität Leipzig).
The workshop gathered scholars from around the world, working in different time periods and geographical areas, in analyzing what happens as concepts central to Refugee Studies – such as refugee, exile, asylum, border, state, humanitarianism, etc. – travel in space and time. What preconceived notions do these concepts carry, how do they interact with our research (what do they hide, what do they make visible), and which challenges and possibilities do they offer? Additionally, the workshop addressed how such central concepts were used in historical times, tracing terminological and conceptual changes. The goal was to offer insight into the challenges and possibilities of using connotation-laden concepts in historical research.
For a program please click here.
