BU Research Blog

RGS-IBG Annual Conference 2017: Decolonising geographical knowledges: opening geography out to the world

London, 29th August -1st September 2017

Session sponsor: Geographies of Leisure and Tourism Research Group (GLTRG)

Call For Papers: Migrant Leisure Spaces and Community Wellbeing

Session Convenor(s):

Jaeyeon Choe (Bournemouth University, UK)

Janet Dickinson (Bournemouth University, UK)

Leisure spaces provide migrants opportunities for developing, expressing and negotiating their personal, social and cultural preferences safely whilst gaining recognition and a sense of belonging. This is especially important as they may confront issues relating to belongingness, societal membership, social status, self-perception and cultural confusion. Leisure can be instrumental to (re)establishing connections and networks with locals as well as other migrants and refugees, and provide spaces for problem solving. Migrants’ ‘going out’ and socialising not only acts as a refuge from the conditions of social isolation and boredom in which they often find themselves, but can also encourage cultural expression. Leisure opportunities and spaces support the development of cultural capital that allows new migrants to feel safe to contemplate building a productive life. Thus, leisure spaces can play an important role in place-making and integration. The role of leisure in integration also reflects the receiving community feeling unthreatened by migration. Thus, it will be fruitful to investigate how leisure spaces (private, public and digital) help develop migrants’ personal and social inclusion and enhance their wellbeing.

We welcome papers related to theoretical and/or empirical aspects of migrant and refugee leisure spaces, community wellbeing, leisure constraints and negotiation strategies, especially problematising (im)mobilities, ethics, morals and (in)justice. Abstracts may focus on (but are not limited to) the following themes:

– Private, public and digital leisure spaces
– Migrant community wellbeing
– Leisure spaces as cultural expression
– Space for social inclusion and/or integration
– Construction of communitas through leisure
– Law/legal geographies and leisure
– Migration, ‘illegality’ and rights
– Tourism mobilities and border crossings
– (Im)mobilities, ethics, morals and (in)justice
– Human security, transnationalization and citizenship
– Leisure and citizenship formation
– Art, aesthetics, border struggles
– Leisure opportunities and migrant communities
– Assimilation and leisure constraints
– Influence of religion on migrant leisure
– Borders, spatial socialization and subjectification
– Social networks, borders and the allure of territory

Mata-Codesal, D., Peperkamp, E., & Tiesler, N. C. (2015). Migration, migrants and leisure: meaningful leisure? Leisure Studies, 34(1), 1 – 4.
Spracklen, K., Long, J., & Hylton, K. (2015). Leisure opportunities and new migrant communities: challenging the contribution of sport. Leisure Studies, 34(1), 114-129.
Stack, J., & Iwasaki, Y. (2009). The role of leisure pursuits in adaptation processes among Afghan refugees who have immigrated to Winnipeg, Canada. Leisure Studies, 28(3), 239-259.

Please submit abstracts to Jaeyeon Choe (jchoe@bournemouth.ac.uk) by 30th January 2017.
Abstracts should be no more than 250 words and include your contact details.

Please see the following link for more details on the conference and registration details.
http://www.rgs.org/WhatsOn/ConferencesAndSeminars/Annual+International+Conference/Annual+international+conference.htm