Egypt: Migrant Citizenship in an Anxious Europe (February 4 - 8, 2018)

Across Europe, the figure of the migrant has taken center stage in anxious debates about the present and future of the nation-state. Against this backdrop, a range of laws and policies regulating migrants’ relation to the nation-state – or ‘migrant citizenship’ – have been adopted and implemented. This course investigates these laws and policies as well as migrant experiences of, and responses to them. As a starting point, the course introduces different perspectives on Europe, such as a post-colonial and a post-industrial perspective, as well as different understandings of citizenship and belonging. From there, the course traces the unfolding of neoliberal welfare reforms and the culturalization of citizenship of the past few decades. The course then delves into the actual laws and policies regulating migrant citizenship, emphasizing in particular how migrants’ negotiation of these laws and policies are shaped by intersections of gender, class, and race. It does so through a series of in-depth, ethnographic studies that show the contours of migrant citizenship in everyday life.

About the instructor:** Wiebe Ruijtenberg is a PhD researcher at the department of anthropology and development studies at the Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. His research explores the Dutch welfare state through the experiences of Egyptian migrant families in Amsterdam. Previously, he graduated from the Research Master Social Sciences at the University of Amsterdam with a dissertation on social life in gated communities in Cairo, Egypt. He has also taught as a visiting fellow at the Cairo Initiative for Liberal Arts and Sciences. During the spring semester of 2017-2018, Wiebe will spend a month at the American University for a teaching visit sponsored by the mobility program of the international office at Radboud University.

Eligibility for all courses

Requirements: These courses are offered for graduate and postgraduate students, and researchers as well as practitioners working with migrants and refugees. A minimum knowledge of displacement and migration terminologies and context is a requirement for participation in any of the three courses.

All courses are conducted in English and no translation facilities are provided. Participants should have a very good command of the English language. Each course will run from 9.30 am till 4pm for five days.

Interested applicants can apply for one course or for all courses.

Number of Participants: minimum of 12 in each course

NB: Non- Egyptian applicants are strongly encouraged to apply early because it takes more than one month to obtain Egyptian visa.

Dates and Location:

Courses will take place at AUC Tahrir Campus. The exact location and room numbers will be forwarded to accepted participants before the start of the courses.

Application Information:

To apply for the courses:

1. Fill out the application form. The form is available on CMRS website: http://www.aucegypt.edu/GAPP/cmrs/outreach/Pages/ShortCourses.aspx

2. Send the application form to cmrscourses@aucegypt.edu with your most recent C.V; Att. Naseem Hashim

Applicants may apply to and be accepted in more than one course. Please do not hesitate to contact cmrscourses@aucegypt.edu if you have any difficulty with the application process.
Applicants accepted for the course will be notified by email within a week after the deadline for submitting the application.