Sociologists Christophe Bertossi (Director of the Center for Migration and Citizenship, French Institute of International Relations) will discuss his research project on Islam, multiculturalism, citizenship: the contexts of symbolic boundary making.
“Public discourse has been suffused by negative claims about multiculturalism, Islam and immigration in Western Europe. In these debates, Islam and Muslims have become a central issue regarding common values, integration and belonging, while citizenship has increasingly been framed as an issue of cultural norms rather than one of civic and social rights. My project is to investigate the consequences of these politics of identity on the way Western European societies produce cultural and moral boundaries, and define who belongs and who doesn’t. I compare countries (such as France and the Netherlands) as well as practical institutional settings (such as the military, hospitals, and trade unions and the workplace). I propose to analyze how what is conceived of as “public values” (secularism, equality, freedom, belonging, etc.) is produced, contested and reframed in these specific contexts. To do so, I draw from a recent current within sociology, at the intersection of cultural sociology (the study of symbolic boundaries) and pragmatic sociology (the study of the moral structure of action).”
About NIAS Seminars
NIAS Seminars are aimed to stimulate scientific cross-pollination within the NIAS academic community and discuss work-in-progress. Attendance is online and by invitation. If you are interested in attending, please contact NIAS.