The Viadrina Center B/ORDERS IN MOTION invites researchers and students from all ERUA universities to join its online lecture series on forced migration, running from 21 October 2026 to 3 February 2027.
This winter semester, the Viadrina Center B/ORDERS IN MOTION at European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) is hosting a lecture series on forced migration in cooperation with ERUA. The series forms part of the Center’s Research Factory and is thematically linked to PATHS Forced Migration, a planned ERUA joint Master’s programme.
International speakers from a range of disciplines will explore how experiences of displacement are shaped by immigration and asylum regimes, legal insecurity, racialisation, gendered and intersectional inequalities, and changing infrastructures of border control and reception. Combining theoretical debate with empirical research and perspectives from policy, activism and practice, the lectures address border externalisation and violence, vulnerability and protection, refugee agency and collective action, as well as local reception, participation and support.
All lectures take place online in English, making it easy for colleagues and students across the ERUA network to join. The series concludes with a hybrid round table in Frankfurt (Oder).
Programme
21 October 2026, 4:15–5:45 p.m. CEST
Melanie Griffiths (University of Birmingham): Deportable Fathers and Families: The Long-Term Effects of Immigration Status Insecurity
11 November 2026, 4:15–5:45 p.m. CET
Nikos Xypolytas (University of the Aegean): Refugees’ Collective Action in Lesvos, Greece (2015–2020)
25 November 2026, 2:15–3:45 p.m. CET
Martina Tazzioli (University of Bologna): Unmaking Migrant Life. Technologies of Suffocation in Europe
9 December 2026, 4:15–5:45 p.m. CET
SA Smythe (University of Toronto): Colonial Technologies of Migrant Dispossession across the Mediterranean
6 January 2027, 4:15–5:45 p.m. CET
Mohammad Kohistani (University of Opole): Refugee Agency in Context: Afghan Refugees in Poland and Germany
20 January 2027, 4:15–5:45 p.m. CET
Jane Freedman (Université Paris 8): Intersectional Vulnerabilities and the Boundaries of Forced Migration
3 February 2027, 4:15–5:45 p.m. CET (hybrid: Senate Hall HG 109, Viadrina Main Building, and online)
Round table: Welcoming Refugees? Local Reception, Support, and Political Participation
With Emanuela Faleńczyk (Integration Commissioner, City of Frankfurt (Oder)), Fereshta Hussain (Migrantenbeirat Potsdam), Mara Hasenjürgen (BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg) and Pierre Vicky Sonkeng Tegouffo (Flüchtlingsrat Brandenburg, tbc)
The round table will be held in German; questions in English are welcome. Simultaneous interpretation into English will be provided if a sufficient number of English-speaking participants register.
Event information
📅 Dates: Wednesdays, 21 October 2026 – 3 February 2027
🕑 Time: 4:15–5:45 p.m. CET/CEST (25 November: 2:15–3:45 p.m. CET)
📍 Format: Online via Zoom; final round table hybrid in Frankfurt (Oder)
Language: English (round table: German)
Registration
A single registration covers all online lectures, and you will receive automatic reminders before each event:
https://forms.europa-uni.de/form/alias/EUV/forced-migration-lecture-series/
Please register separately for the round table on 3 February 2027:
https://forms.europa-uni.de/form/alias/EUV/roundtable/?lang=en
The full programme, including abstracts and speaker bios, is available in the programme flyer (PDF) and on the Center’s website:
https://www.borders-in-motion.de/en/transfer/aktuelles-blog/2026/2026-09-07-forced-migration/index.html
We look forward to your participation and to lively discussions across the ERUA network!
Please note: The online events are held via the video conferencing service Zoom, which involves the processing of personal data. By registering, you consent to the use of Zoom. For details on what data is processed and how to exercise your rights, please see the privacy information: https://zoom.us/privacy
