Michaela Pelican

Activities at ECAS 2023 ‘African Futures‘

Panel Anth33: Global-African entanglement: transformation and continuity of social inequalities and labour practices. Thursday, 1.6.23, 9:00-10:45h,15:00-16:45h; Philosophikum, S66, University of Cologne.  Link to panel

Panel & Roundtable Anth42: Fulani as a security threat in the Sahel? How to derail established narratives and strengthen pastoralist/minority voices. Friday, 2.6.23, 15:00-16:45h, 17:15-19:00h; HörsaalgebÀude, Hörssaal E, University of Cologne. Link to panel

Audio-visual station "Alter Voices – Covid Stories: A podcast series of the research unit “Communication during and after COVID-19: (re)producing social inequalities and/or opportunities among African migrants in the United Arab Emirates and China”. 18.5.23-11.6.23, Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum, Cologne. Link to description

Conference in UAE: The Production and Reproduction of Social Inequalities’

‘Inequalities in the Gulf and Beyond’, second conference of the Research Unit ‘The Production and Reproduction of Social Inequalities’, 6.-7.2.2023, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Workshop on forced migration

Stakeholder Workshops on ‘Forced migration and internal displacement from the North West and South West regions of Cameroon’ May 2022, ALDEPA Maroua, Mairie de Foumbot, UNIC YaoundĂ©
Output:

• Policy brief on the effects of the Anglophone Conflict on the Mbororo Indigenous Minority in Cameroon
• Policy brief on the situation of Anglophone Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in the Far North and West Regions of Cameroon

Conference in Germany: The Production and Reproduction of Social Inequalities’

Opening Conference of the Research Unit ‘The Production and Reproduction of Social Inequalities‘ 11 to 12 November 2021, University of Cologne (virtual)

Past Events (selection)

Panel discussion 'Remembering Spanish Flu during Covid-19: Reinforcing Existing Inequalities or Opening up New Opportunities?', with Prof. Dr. Michaela Pelican, Prof. Dr. Ulrike Lindner, and Dr. Jonathan Ngeh. In: Web Talk Series 'Corona Conversations: Mobility in a (Post)Covid Future' , Global South Studies Center (GSSC), University of Cologne, 27.10.2020

International workshop 'Towards an Independent Anthropology at African Universities:
Possibilites, Challenges, Trajectories'
10 to 11 January 2019, University of Cologne
Workshop of the Regional Working Group Africa of the German Association for Social and Cultural Anthropology (DGSKA), organized by Michael Bollig, Michaela Pelican, and Karim Zafer
programme | report

Collaborative research programme 'Urban youths' perspectives on making a future in Cameroon and/or abroad'
26 July to 19 September 2019, University of Yaoundé 1
organized by Michaela Pelican and Deli Teri Tize
research programme

Field School 'Africa-Asia Connections'
25 September to 8 October 2017, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town
organized by Michaela Pelican and Oliver Tappe
documentation of field school

International workshop 'Migration and the Global South: Mobility and Social Change'
27 to 29 March 2017, Casa de Rui Barbosa Foundation, Rio de Janeiro
organized by Claudio Costa Pinheiro and Nina Schneider
workshop documentation

International workshop 'The Gender Dimensions of Human Trafficking'
22 to 23 January 2016, University of Cologne
organized by Michaela Pelican and the participants of the MA seminar 'Human Trafficking: academic and public debates'
workshop documentation

International conference 'Ethnicity in (Pre-)Colonial Societies'
15 to 16 October 2015, University of Cologne
organized by the University of Cologne Forum Forum "Ethnicity as a Political Resource"
poster  |  programme

International conference 'Migration, Ethnicity, and the State'
26 to 28 March 2015 at Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
co-organized by the University of Cologne Forum Forum 'Ethnicity as a Political Resource' and the Center of Urban Studies, Sun Yat-sen University
poster | flyer | programme

2015 Annual Reception of the Rector of the University of Cologne
Panel Discussion with Prof. Dr. Matthias Sutter, Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Hofmann,
Jun.-Prof. Dr. Michaela Pelican and Dr. Patrick Honecker, 3.2.2015

Photo exhibition 'KAHINA: Art, Action, and Research' and panel discussion 'Melilla - on the border of Africa and Europe?'
17 to 28 November 2014, Allerweltshaus and University of Cologne
co-organized by the University of Cologne Forum Forum "Ethnicity as a Political Resource" and the participatory social action and research project 'Kahina'
programme

BAOHAN Street: An African Community in Guangzhou
Photo exhibition by Li Dong (artist) and Michaela Pelican (curator)
15 October - 15 November 2014, University of Cologne.

International Conference, 2.-4.4.2014, University of Cologne
'Conceptualizing Ethnicity as a Political Resource - across Disciplines, Regions, and Periods'.
More information...
While much research has been conducted on the formation of ethnicity and its impact on political mobilization in different parts of the world, the question of whether it is meaningful to speak of a unified single process has remained unresolved. Whether and how this question is addressed has potential consequences for the conceptualization of ethnicity and the closely related concept of race in pre-modern times and in pre-colonial settings around the globe, as well as for our understanding of contemporary claims to indigeneity across the world. At the same time, it shapes our understanding of contemporary formations of ethnic identities and their use in political negotiation processes.
In this conference, we attempt to conceptualize ethnicity as a political resource by addressing it from three interrelated angles: how it is viewed by scholars from different academic disciplines; the different forms it takes in various regions of the world; and how it can be investigated with specific reference to distinct historical periods. For this endeavor we have invited scholars from diverse disciplines and global regions to interact in three consecutive roundtable discussions, and to jointly develop a comprehensive approach to ethnicity as a political resource.
poster | flyer | programme

International Workshop, 5.-7.12.2013, University of Cologne
'Mobility within and to the Global South: alternative histories, labour policies, and citizenship regimes'.
More information...
One of the current trends of international migration is its reorientation towards new geographical destinations. These alternative topographies can be seen in the context of global transitions to a new multipolar world order, in which European and North American destinations gradually lose their force of attraction. This workshop is aimed at developing a conceptual framework to study migration within and to the Global South, and to discuss vital subject areas, such as migration and citizenship regimes, migrant sociability and networks, as well as interdisciplinary methodologies, epistemologies and collaboration. It will bring together scholars from different disciplinary fields who are experts in this emerging field of study.
The keynote speech will be delivered by Prof. Bela Feldman-Bianco of the Universidade Estadual de Campinas on the subject "Deconstructing the Global South Notion: Migration, Political Economy and Ethnography" (public lecture, Friday, December 5, 17.45-19.15h, S25).

Workshop participants: Tanja Bastia, Marina de Regt, Heike Drotbohm, Bela Feldman-Bianco, Laavanya Kahtiravelu, Olivia Kilias, Maggi Leung, Zhigang Li, Albert Manke, Anna-Maria Manz, Jonathan Ngeh, Michaela Pelican, Aranzazu Recalde, Tobias Schwarz, Brigitte Suter, Ida Vammen, Yang Zhou.
Convenors: Michaela Pelican & Heike Drotbohm
Funding: EASA, University of Cologne, Global South Studies Center/Key Profile Area 4
abstract | poster | programme | report

International lectures