Security, Society, and Migration Remote Studio - Balkans

Overview

This Security, Society, and Migration Remote Studio - Balkans programme from The New School will examine the dynamic between security and society with particular attention to issues of identity, post-conflict development, and migration along the Balkan route. It will trace the physical, political, legal, social, and economic terrain that structures and defines the interactions between various actors along one of the main historic migration paths. We take the current refugee situation in this corridor as our departure point to engage with questions of state society relations in Turkey, Greece, and the former Yugoslav states. 

As we shift our gaze from the Turkish Aegean coast, from one island "hot spot" to another, across Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia, and Kosovo, we engage with histories of empires and their collapse, ancient and more recent migration flows, and the cultural sediment they have left behind. Student research agendas and projects will be arranged along several thematic axes connected to broader topics of state consolidation and transformation in post-conflict spaces: migration and refugee policies; EU and regional politics; genocides and identity relationships; the built environment, camps, and spaces of confinement and violence; and the discourses and representations of crises.

Key Facts

The studio will provide each student with a space and context in which to develop their research interests in close collaboration with the faculty, fellow students, and invited guest speakers. The studio aims to foster a collaborative environment in which students can reflect and advance their theoretical perspectives; engage with one another in critical analysis of broader social, political, and economic contexts; and craft thoughtful responses to challenges raised by the guest speakers and relevant literatures. The studio will include Zoom sessions with experts in the field.