“Radical Diversity: Postmigrant Perspectives on Art, Culture and Politics”
Prof. Moritz Schramm, Associate Professor at the Department of Studies of Culture at South Denmark University (SDU)
Abstract:
In recent years, the concept of postmigration and the notion of a postmigrant society have had a significant impact on the social sciences, as well as in the humanities in Europe. Partly growing out of the theatre scene in Berlin, Germany, postmigration is often seen as a political catchword or even a critical intervention in both public and academic discourses on migration and integration. The term does not signal an end of migration, but rather refers to the overall negotiations and conflicts taking place in societies that are fundamentally shaped by earlier and ongoing migration movements. In my lecture, I will introduce the developing concept of postmigration and its academic reception, before exploring it as an analytical perspective, reframing or even challenging widespread concepts such as ‘super-diversity’ and ‘multiculturalism’. With a focus on the idea of ‘radical diversity’, insisting on the undisputable multiplicity of all individual backgrounds, the paper wants to discuss the consequences of the new concept for art and culture, as well as for politics.
Organized by Dr. Markus Hallensleben and Sabine Zimmermann (graduate student co-sponsor), and co-sponsored by the UBC Institute for European Studies.
Lunch will be provided in the C.K. Lounge Prior to the event. Please RSVP for lunch here by January 8.
