Migration and identity

The causes and effects of human migration have been a major world issue for thousands of years, whether as a result of climate and geography, persecution, or simply the search for a better standard of living. The Migration Network is based in the Exeter Interdisciplinary Institute (EII) and brings together researchers from many other academic areas, including history, sociology, biosciences and business and economics. It also includes external partners such as the Met Office, Non-Governmental Organisations, and the Stanford Center for the Comparative Study of Race and Ethnicity.

Professor Regenia Gagnier, who co-directs the Migration and Identity research network with Dr Elena Isayev, said: “Migration and identity is a complex problem and we can’t really claim to understand the issue if we approach it simply from the perspective of, say, geography or sociology. We need to create an interface between those whose research is based in local contexts and those who address global issues; those who focus on urgent present topics and those who work on historical issues; those who draw on the particularity and depth of understanding in humanities research and those who rely on the statistical breadth of generality identified with the sciences.”

Current research projects

Global ethnopolitics

A worldwide study into the effects of ethnicity on politics and society is underway with funding worth £738,000 from the Leverhulme Trust. Associate Professor Gareth Stansfield, of the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, leads a team of researchers dedicated to the study of ‘ethnopolitics’. The project will run for five years and has established the Exeter Centre for Ethno-Political Studies, dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of ethno-politics.

The project, ‘Ethnopolitics in a Globalized World’, explores how and why life in many parts of the world seems to be dominated by ethnicity or the sense of belonging to a particular community, and how this affects societies in terms of how different ethnic groups interact with each other.

Conflict in cities and the contested state

Belfast and Jerusalem are the focus of a five-year project to investigate how conflicts over state identity and territory are manifested in divided cities. Researchers led by Professor Mick Dumper in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences are examining how urban structures are used (and abused) in the regulation or containment of wider national conflicts.

A multi-disciplinary team from three UK universities – Exeter, Cambridge and Queens’ Belfast – is carrying out primary empirical research on Belfast and Jerusalem, and the work will be supplemented by an international network of academics and practitioners with expertise on other divided cities and contested states, including Nicosia, Mostar, Berlin, Beirut and Kirkuk.

For more information visit the project website Conflict in Cities and the Contested State.

Celtic cultures and their mythic past

The latest success for researchers working in the field of migration and identity is a research project much closer to home. A new £250,000 project led by Dr Marion Gibson is exploring Cornwall and other ‘Celtic’ cultures’ understanding of their mythic past and its impact on their present identities. The project’s Co-Investigator is Dr Garry Tregidga.

The county of Cornwall is rich n myths and legends and these are variously rooted in historical fact. These stories often dramatise contested versions of Cornwall’s history as a separate political unit with its own language and traditions. Together they contribute to a powerful sense among today’s Cornish population that their home is somehow different to the rest of England, and is haunted by a sense of past potency.

Britain and the Muslim World

In association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Fondation Temimi (Tunis), and SOAS, Professor Gerald MacLean is currently initiating a major international and interdisciplinary research project to be called Britain and the Muslim World.

This project will attempt a comprehensive and accessible synthesis of the most advanced scholarly knowledge to date concerning the topic by inviting leading scholars, cutting-edge researchers and public intellectuals to participate in a series of interactive seminars and conferences, as well as occasional workshops, talks, concerts and exhibitions.