<iesinterchange.ubc.ca>
Subject: CFP: Identity and Immigration in Europe (Wales, 22.-27.7.02)

Call for Papers: The Developing Discourses of Identity and Immigration in
Europe (Workshop 510)
is a workshop to be held at:

The Eighth International Conference of the International Society for the
Study of European Ideas
European Culture in a Changing World: Between Nationalism and Globalism
Aberystwyth, Wales, 22-27 July, 2002

Europe is in a paradoxical but fascinating situation. As the process of
political and economic integration continues with the development of the EU,
there is on the one hand a growing awareness of regional identity, while on
the other hand the debate on national identity has been stimulated by the
integration process and a lively discourse around the question of
immigration. The immigration discourse is itself now being further
stimulated by the increasing public knowledge of the impact of demographic
processes which are bringing about a decline in the active population of all
European countries, and also by the imminent expansion of the European Union
eastwards. The situation is further complicated by the apparent
impossibility of producing sufficient workers for certain sectors of the
economy considered of particular importance for the maintenance of national
prosperity. As a result, after considerable debate, Switzerland, for
instance, now has a clearly enunciated immigration policy with target
numbers and a defined policy for the "integration" of foreigners.

This workshop will examine not the nature of identity or culture as
such, but the developing discourse(s) of identity and/or immigration in any
of the countries of Europe. The proposal is to focus attention in the first
instance on the statements of political parties or their representatives
(whether national or regional), and secondly on media or popular discourses.
The discussion could be informed by any of the variants of (critical)
discourse analysis, but other practices of linguistic analysis are also
welcome.

Papers could consider, for instance, but need not be limited to: the
communication of overt or covert messages of power, of superiority,
inferiority, or hostility in the areas of identity or culture, of exclusive
claims to (or denial of) territory or attachment to territory, aspects of
national or regional culture; alternatively, contributions could address,
for example, questions of argumentation, semantic selection, metaphor or
simile as part of a process of communicating culture and identity either
individually or within a context of migration.

This process of analysis will cast light on questions of identity,
culture, or policy towards culture, and stances and attitudes will emerge
more clearly, particularly in the areas of regionalism, nationalism, and
globalism.

If you are interested in presenting a paper at this workshop, please contact
the workshop chair (deadline April 15 2002):

Robert Gould, School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, Carleton
University, Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6, Canada; email: rgouldccs.carleton.ca;
(613) 520-2600, ext. 2113.
The URL of the conference is: www.aber.ac.uk/tfts/issei2002.