Oct 24 2019

The Refugee Crisis: A Conference

October 24 - 25, 2019

9:30 AM - 6:00 PM

Migration Narrative (2015) By Faisal Mohyuddin

"Google Map of 750 South Halsted Street"

Location

Room 605 Student Center East

Address

750 South Halsted Street, Chicago, IL 60607

Calendar

Download iCal File

Conference Description:
The world is in the grip of an international refugee crisis. Over 68 million people have been displaced from their homes due to wars, state collapse, persecution, terrorism, poverty, and climate catastrophes. While these numbers have never been greater, many refugee destination countries have responded with restrictionist and anti-immigrant policies. Those seeking refuge are treated as unwelcome intruders and are subject to marginalization, dehumanizing detention, or deportation. The precarious position of refugees is further exacerbated by unstable conditions in host states. This conference gathers scholars, activists, and artists to examine the refugee crisis from a comparative regional perspective. Through panels, storytelling, lectures, and performances, it will interrogate the conditions that have led to the crisis; critically examine existing legal definitions of refugees; analyze responses to the crisis by governments, organizations, activists, and refugees; and explore new strategies for protecting and accommodating precarious populations.

Location: room 605 Student Center East, 750 South Halsted, University of Illinois at Chicago

October 24:

9:30-10:00 Breakfast and Welcome

10:00-12:15 PLEASE NOTE NEW START TIME!

I. Refugee Histories: what can historicizing the crisis teach us about our current conditions?

Moderator: Adam Goodman (UIC)

Lynette Jackson (UIC)
“A Historical Contextualization of Refugees and/of the New World (Dis)order”

Evan Taparata (University of Pennsylvania)
“Family Separation in Refugee History”

Tara Zahra (University of Chicago)
“State of Refuge: Refugee Policy and State-Building in the Long 19th Century United States”

12:15-1 Lunch

1-2:45

II. Keynote Address

Introduction: Andreas Feldmann (UIC)

T. Alexander Aleinikoff (The New School)
“The Arc of Protection: Reforming the International Refugee Regime”

3-4:45 PM

III. Refugee Voices: Refugees speak of the crisis in their own words.

Moderator: Patrisia Macías-Rojas (UIC)

Omar Awadh (UIC)

Suhaib Ibrahim (GSG Consultant)

Tedros Markos (journalist)

Michael Yemane, Viator House of Hospitality

5 PM Reception

October 25:

8:30-9:00 Breakfast

9-10:45

IV. Refugees in a Global Context: how can different regional contexts illuminate the urgent challenges presented by the crisis? Issues to be discussed in this context could include restrictionism, populism, etc.

Moderator: Lynette Jackson (UIC)

Andreas Feldmann (UIC)
“The Evisceration of State Power and the New Challenges for Refugee Protection in Latin America”

Amal Hassan Fadlalla (University of Michigan)
“From Sudan to America: Reflections on Diaspora and Revolution”

Kemal Kirişci (Brookings Institution)
“Operationalizing the Global Compact on Refugees and Turkey: Prospects and Challenges to Supporting Self-Reliance of Refugees and Resilience of Host Communities”

11-12:45

V. Refugees and Precarities–A conversation: how are precarious conditions in origin and destination nations/regions affecting the conditions of refugees and the possibilities for protection and aid?

Moderator: Sultan Tepe (UIC)

Noelle Kateri Brigden (Marquette University)
“Justified Migrations from Central America: Asylum Caravans and Accountability Claims”

Ogenga Otunnu (DePaul University)
“The Causes and Consequences of Refugee and Forced Migration in Africa”

12:45-1:30 Lunch

1:30-3:15

VI. Refugee Writing/Writing Refugees: how are creative artists responding to the refugee crisis?

Introduced by Daniel Borzutzky (UIC)

Daniel Borzutzky (UIC)

Faisal Mohyuddin (Highland Park High School)

Osama Alomar (Syrian author)

3:30-5:15

VII. New Futures: What possibilities can be found–within or outside governments, NGOs, and activist communities—to address the refugee crisis?