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DTSTART:20250101T000000
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Qatar:20260111T080000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Qatar:20260111T170000
DTSTAMP:20260413T004653
CREATED:20251204T084318Z
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SUMMARY:Migration Studies from the Global South: Rethinking Theory and Method Workshop
DESCRIPTION:On November 16 and 17\, 2025\, the Center for International and Regional Studies (CIRS) at Georgetown University in Qatar (GUQ) held a brainstorming session under its research initiative Migration Studies from the Global South: Rethinking Theory and Method. This inaugural meeting brought together scholars and practitioners of migration from the Global South to explore key themes and suggest future research directions. The main themes that emerged from collective sessions and focus groups emphasized a shift towards decolonized\, context-specific\, and migrant-centric approaches. Throughout the discussions\, participants consistently highlighted the need to move beyond Eurocentric perspectives and established categories in migration studies. \n\nThe discussion began with a focus on “State Formation\, Sovereignty\, and Borders.” This session explored how state formation\, sovereignty\, and borders influence migration patterns. Participants examined why people undertake irregular migration\, how migrants cope with challenges\, and the role of solidarity and agency in navigating policy obstacles and structural inequalities. The session reimagined sovereignty as a shared concept\, questioning its traditional definition\, and explored a decolonial perspective on borders\, including pre-state migrant political communities. Notably\, the focus shifted from receiving states to origin states in migration integration\, analyzing sending states’ motivations and migrants’ responses. Discussions covered the Kafala system\, theories of the state from the Global South\, and challenges to sovereignty through social and cultural dynamics. The session also addressed gender and borders\, development finance through diaspora capital\, and the complexities of regular and irregular mobilities. Participants emphasized understanding migrant operations at a micro-level\, utilizing digitalization\, and critically assessing knowledge production in migration studies. \n\nThe second session\, “Decolonization\, Race\, and Nationalism\,” investigated power modalities\, resistance forms\, and research methods in migration. The session examined how race and categories shape belonging and wider power structures. The discussion emphasized ‘de-exceptionalizing’ the Gulf region and examined the continuity of colonial power structures through a postcolonial lens on migration. Anti-trafficking policies were scrutinized for blurring consent\, differentiating inadequately between trafficking and smuggling\, and failing to account for migrants’ coping strategies with coercion. The session stressed the need for decolonizing research through alternative methods and indigenous knowledge while addressing structural inequalities and the power of negotiation. Participants emphasized that decolonization\, race\, and nationalism carry different meanings across contexts\, highlighting the need for both intellectual and institutional decolonization. The definition of the Global South and its role as the “majority world” were also discussed\, alongside global mobility\, passports\, and using social media to amplify migrant voices. \n\nIn the next session\, “The Problem of Migration Categories\,” participants critically analyzed the impact of migration categories\, advocating for new vocabularies and a “demigration” of migration studies. The unit of analysis was questioned\, and regional variations in existing categories were highlighted\, particularly challenging the legal versus illegal distinction as unconventional. A core focus was the need for “categories from below\,” advocating for local\, indigenous classifications that reflect migrants’ lived experiences and agency rather than state-imposed definitions. The group critiqued white versus non-white binaries and the homogenization of categories for specific jobs. Participants also differentiated between categorization and classification\, emphasizing the unstable and evolving nature of these categories and the importance of understanding their contextual meanings. \n\nIn the “Identity\, Belonging\, and Citizenship” session\, the discussion explored how racial capitalism constructs identities\, often deeming people as “surplus” and producing “hyper mobile citizens.” Participants examined race\, class\, and identity as intertwined characteristics of citizenship while acknowledging the complex self-identification of people on the move. The discussion included carceral migration\, detailing detention tactics and prison-industrial complexes that limit movement. Participants stressed rethinking the citizenship-belonging nexus\, questioning traditional notions of loyalty and civic attachment\, and contrasting the perceived value of a “strong passport” with actual belonging. Migrant identity mobility\, including migrant capital and onward migration\, was also analyzed. The session differentiated between “desirable” and “surplus” migrants\, critiqued homogeneous categories\, and sought new language beyond “blue collar” terms to define migrants. Participants also addressed how migration impacts family structures\, called for a post-nationalist liberal theory of citizenship\, viewed remittances as a form of belonging\, and highlighted the role of networks in providing safety and security. \n\nIn the session “Labor\, Capitalism\, and Political Economy of Migration\,” participants examined theories of migration states in the Global South\, including nationalization\, neoliberal\, and developmental approaches\, and their impact on sending countries’ economies\, with particular attention to the gendered dimensions of remittances. The discussion highlighted the need for better theories on return migration\, focusing on reintegration and communication with policymakers. Destination imaginaries were explored\, including the evolving perception of the West as a dream destination\, transient migration\, and alternative routes. Remittances were critically analyzed as both a politically engineered necessity that can create dependency but also as a resource with social\, human\, and political value. The session also addressed tracking money flows\, including reverse remittances and debt circulation\, and the challenges of measuring remittances\, their household impacts\, taxation effects\, and diverse uses. \n\nIn the next session\, “Unpacking Migration and Development\,” participants examined the often assumed link between migration and development\, labeling it Eurocentric and non-causal. They highlighted the need to rethink this nexus through social transformation and human capabilities while exploring informal economies and their bi-directional impacts. The session sought a Global South epistemology for migration and development\, focusing on social processes and knowledge production. Participants highlighted remittances as crucial\, often exceeding foreign direct investments\, and discussed diaspora contributions to national development through various forms. Climate migration was introduced as a new development issue\, linking climate change\, security\, and human movement. The session questioned restrictions on free movement and promoted using regional knowledge for solutions. Participants critiqued “white saviorism” in migration development and emphasized the practical application of lived experiences. The discussion aimed for a ground-up vision of development\, advocating for alternative lexicons and challenging the argument that development reduces migration. \n\nFor the session focused on “Gendered Experiences of Migration and Mobility\,” participants highlighted the lack of gender-focused policies and data\, which renders female migration largely invisible. They emphasized reclaiming human trafficking as a gendered issue vital for migration studies and advocated for research beyond traditional family units. The session highlighted how reintegration often neglects female returnees’ vulnerabilities\, urging policies tailored to their specific needs. Participants critiqued governance’s legal focus for overlooking the care economy and transnational care networks\, challenging the assumption of women as domestic caregivers regardless of professional background. Data indicate that women send remittances more frequently and in larger amounts than men\, often also serving as primary recipients in origin countries and efficiently managing household finances. However\, methodological gaps persist\, with insufficient data disaggregated by gender and age. The discussion also addressed phenomena such as “self-deportation” triggered by policy changes\, gender disparities in digital platforms\, and the role of social media in increasing visibility. Migration was considered both a form of protection from and a context for violence. The session highlighted female migrants’ life cycles\, the rise of mail-order brides\, and the effects of male return on women’s empowerment. It further emphasized the importance of pre- and post-departure orientation and the need to recognize diverse family structures\, including single mothers. \n\nIn the last session\, “Conflict and Climate Mobilities\,” participants highlighted the need for community-centric solutions in conflict and climate induced mobilities while addressing citizenship and belonging during displacement. The discussion examined the 1951 Convention’s relevance\, advocating for refugees’ self-definition and re-evaluating classification systems. Localized knowledge is crucial for climate mobilities\, with participants acknowledging that displacement often stems from both climate change and conflict. The session highlighted trapped populations\, such as those with disabilities\, who cannot relocate. Participants emphasized communal efforts\, in preparing for and reacting to climate events. The health consequences of climate change were also explored\, stressing sending states’ and embassies’ roles in awareness and preparedness. \n\nThe discussions from this workshop will inform a series of CIRS-led projects\, fostering studies and publications on migration that advance innovative theoretical and empirical approaches in and of the Global South. \n\n\nTo view the working group agenda\, click here\n\n\n\nTo read the participants’ biographies\, click here\n\n\nParticipants and Discussants:  \n\n\nRogaia Mustafa Abusharaf\, Georgetown University in Qatar\n\n\n\nIdil Akinci\, University of Edinburgh \n\n\n\nHaya Al Noaimi\, Northwestern University in Qatar\n\n\n\nHessa Alnuaimi\, University of Sharjah\n\n\n\nZahra Babar\, CIRS\, Georgetown University in Qatar\n\n\n\nMisba Bhatti\, CIRS\, Georgetown University in Qatar\n\n\n\nMaryam Daud\, CIRS\, Georgetown University in Qatar\n\n\n\nDenisse Delgado Vázquez\, Georgetown University\n\n\n\nPriya Deshingkar\, University of Sussex\n\n\n\nBina Fernandez\, University of Melbourne\n\n\n\nAmanda Garrett\, Georgetown University in Qatar\n\n\n\nNoor Hussain\, CIRS\, Georgetown University in Qatar\n\n\n\nNeelima Jeychandran\, Virginia Commonwealth University\, Qatar\n\n\n\nSyed Taha Kaleem\, PhD candidate at Brandeis University\n\n\n\nLeander Kandilige\, University of Ghana \n\n\n\nAnju Mary\, New York University Abu Dhabi \n\n\n\nThemrise Khan\, Independent Researcher \n\n\n\nHasan Mahmud\, Northwestern University in Qatar\n\n\n\nSuzi Mirgani\, CIRS\, Georgetown University in Qatar\n\n\n\nLaila Omar\, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies \n\n\n\nLinda Adhiambo Oucho\, African Migration and Development Policy Centre (AMADPOC)\n\n\n\nRhacel Salazar Parreñas\, Princeton University \n\n\n\nZarqa Parvez\, Georgetown University in Qatar\n\n\n\nMd Mizanur Rahman\, Qatar University \n\n\n\nDina Taha\, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies \n\n\n\nSabreen Taha\, CIRS\, Georgetown University in Qatar\n\n\n\nBrenda S.A. Yeoh\, National University of Singapore (NUS)\n\n\n\nMeron Zeleke\, University in Ethiopia\n\n\nArticle by Misba Bhatti\, Research Analyst at CIRS
URL:https://cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu/event/migration-studies-from-the-global-south-rethinking-theory-and-method-workshop/
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DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Qatar:20260122T130000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Qatar:20260122T140000
DTSTAMP:20260413T004653
CREATED:20260122T090233Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260216T072728Z
UID:10001595-1769086800-1769090400@cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu
SUMMARY:Africana Studies Across Regions: In Conversation with Dr. Su’ad Abdul Khabeer and Professor Akintunde Akinade
DESCRIPTION:In Conversation with Dr. Su’ad Abdul Khabeer and Professor Akintunde Akinade \n\nWhat does Africana Studies look like depending on where it is practiced? This lunch talk brings scholars into conversation on how institutional location\, disciplinary training\, and regional context shape the questions\, methods\, and stakes of Africana Studies. The discussion considers the relationship between scholarship and community\, and how recognition\, accountability\, and relevance vary across contexts. \n\nOn January 22nd\, the Center for International and Regional Studies (CIRS) hosted Dr. Su’ad Abdul Khabeer\, a scholar of anthropology and Africana Studies at the University of Michigan\, in conversation with Professor Akintunde Akinade\, Professor of Theology at Georgetown University in Qatar. The dialogue explored the intersections of theology\, Africana Studies\, pedagogy\, and resistance within increasingly hostile academic environments. The conversation began with both scholars reflecting on their experiences teaching liberation theology and Africana Studies\, with Professor Akinade sharing that after nearly 30 years of teaching\, he remains passionate about doing “theology for the people” and moving students beyond Eurocentric frameworks to engage with theologies from Latin America\, Africa\, and Asia. He described teaching a course on liberation theologies at GU-Q and noted that students are responsive and engaged\, coming to class ready to move beyond dogma and think critically. \n\nThe discussion outlined the challenges of teaching in the current political climate\, particularly around issues of white supremacy and institutional resistance. Professor Akinade shared a powerful teaching moment from his recent class where he defined white supremacy as sin\, explaining that from a theological perspective\, sin is separation—separation between humanity and divinity\, but in the context of white supremacy\, it manifests as separation between people through hierarchies that deny our shared humanity. Dr. Abdul Khabeer added Islamic theological perspectives on this\, citing scholars like Sherman Jackson who frames white supremacy as shirk\, the association of partners with God that destabilizes the fundamental Islamic principle of tawhid\, the oneness of God. She also mentioned feminist Islamic theologian Amina Wadud who makes similar arguments about patriarchy usurping divine authority. Both scholars emphasized that these theological framings ground their resistance to oppression in core spiritual principles. \n\nThe conversation addressed how space and place shape what can be taught and said. Professor Akinade contrasted his experience teaching in Doha\, where he feels freedom to speak openly\, with his previous position in High Point\, North Carolina\, where students were more resistant to revolutionary content. Dr. Abdul Khabeer spoke candidly about the contemporary reality of teaching in the United States\, including students recording classes to try to “catch” professors saying something controversial\, the need to have attorneys on standby\, meticulous documentation of all interactions\, and the recent elimination of diversity\, equity\, and inclusion programming at the University of Michigan where she teaches. Despite these hostile conditions\, both scholars emphasized the absolute necessity of continuing the work.  \n\nA significant portion of the discussion focused on teaching the humanity of Black people and moving beyond caricatures and stereotypes. Professor Akinade grounded this in the theological concept that everyone is created in the image of God\, making every person precious and important with a divine spark. Dr. Abdul Khabeer described teaching a hip-hop course where she uses albums like Biggie Smalls’ “Ready to Die” to help students understand Black humanity in three dimensions rather than one-dimensional caricatures. She explained that by analyzing songs like “Suicidal Thoughts” and Geto Boys’ “Mind Playing Tricks on Me\,” students learn to understand the socioeconomic contexts shaping people’s lives\, recognize the community and relationships that exist\, and see the solidarity and care present even in difficult circumstances. The goal is to move students beyond seeing Black people as hypersexual and hyperviolent stereotypes to understanding the fuller context of lived experiences\, mental health struggles\, and community support systems. \n\nBoth scholars emphasized the importance of embodiment and experience as forms of knowledge\, challenging the Enlightenment paradigm’s overemphasis on reason alone. Dr. Abdul Khabeer\, who is also a dancer trained in Katherine Dunham’s dance anthropology technique\, explained how everyday life\, how one dresses\, moves through space\, and physically exists\, is deeply tied to history and politics. She shared an example of applying to Vassar College and discovering that the staircases were built for “women’s gaits” but her feet were too large for them\, teaching her viscerally about who institutions are designed for and who they exclude. Professor Akinade connected this to his theological work\, arguing that experience—particularly the experience of those raised in villages\, those who have suffered\, those marginalized—must be used to redefine orthodoxy and challenge monolithic paradigms. He referenced James Cone’s declaration that “God is Black” not as a statement about skin color but as an ontological connection with suffering\, as Cornel West says\, letting suffering speak. \n\nThe conversation highlighted the expansiveness that Africana Studies offers as an epistemology. Dr. Abdul Khabeer explained that unlike the traditional Euro-American tradition that says “you do it this way or that way and that’s it\,” Africana Studies provides more options\, more possibilities\, and therefore more solutions. She attributed this expansiveness to the fact that Black people\, particularly descendants of enslaved people\, are “miracles walking” because they were not meant to survive but did survive through imagination and refusing to accept oppressive narratives as truth. This survival through creativity and alternative ways of knowing gives Africana Studies its power to envision futures and discover opportunities that dominant frameworks foreclose. \n\nProfessor Akinade challenged who gets to define rigorous scholarship\, questioning why work not done at elite Western institutions like Rome\, Columbia\, or Yale is deemed less rigorous. He invoked Steve Biko’s book title “I Write What I Like” to assert his own approach: “I write what I like\, I teach what I like\, and I’m accountable\, accountable to my people.” Both scholars emphasized that scholarship cannot be abstract but must be connected to life\, must be life-giving\, must help things grow. They discussed the danger of “dead scholarship” that exists only in ivory towers disconnected from the communities it purports to study\, though Dr. Abdul Khabeer nuanced this by noting that death itself is a portal to other things in many traditions\, so perhaps the better term is scholarship that is not life-giving\, that doesn’t allow things to grow and flourish. \n\nArticle by Maryam Daud\, Administrative Assistant at CIRS and Honore Mugiraneza\, CIRS Publications Assistant
URL:https://cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu/event/africana-studies-across-regions-in-conversation-with-dr-suad-abdul-khabeer-and-professor-akintunde-akinade/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Qatar:20260126T183000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Qatar:20260126T210000
DTSTAMP:20260413T004653
CREATED:20260118T132247Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260122T085526Z
UID:10001594-1769452200-1769461200@cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu
SUMMARY:Cotton Queen | Film Screening and Panel Discussion
DESCRIPTION:Join us for the screening of Cotton Queen\, register below! \n\n\nRegister Here\n\n\nCotton Queen is a 2025 internationally co-produced drama written and directed by Suzi Mirgani in her feature directorial debut. Set in a cotton-farming village in Sudan\, the film follows Nafisa\, a young woman raised on her grandmother’s stories of resistance against British colonial rule. When a businessman arrives with a development scheme centered on genetically engineered cotton\, Nafisa finds herself at the heart of a quiet but fierce power struggle that exposes the entanglements of land\, memory\, gender\, and exploitation. \n\nThe film had its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival in September 2025 and has since received wide international acclaim\, including the Golden Alexander Award for Best Feature Film at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival. With a haunting score by Amine Bouhafa and striking cinematography by Frida Marzouk\, Cotton Queen is a powerful meditation on resistance\, inheritance\, and the cost of so-called progress.
URL:https://cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu/event/film-screening-cotton-queen-by-suzi-mirgani/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Qatar:20260129T120000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Qatar:20260129T150000
DTSTAMP:20260413T004653
CREATED:20260223T104600Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260223T122423Z
UID:10001599-1769688000-1769698800@cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu
SUMMARY:CURA Research Workshop | Visualizing Your Research: Poster Design
DESCRIPTION:On 29 January 2026\, the Center for International and Regional Studies (CIRS) hosted a research skills workshop titled Visualizing Your Research: Poster Design Workshop. The workshop was facilitated by Sahar Mari\, Senior Learning Engineer at Northwestern University in Qatar\, and Sara Shaaban\, Creative Director at VCU School of the Arts in Qatar. The workshop attracted students from Qatar Foundation partner universities\, including Northwestern University in Qatar\, Texas A&M University at Qatar\, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar\, and Weill Cornell Medicine – Qatar\, enriching the experience through interdisciplinary exchange as participants applied these skills to their own research practices. \n\n\nThe session introduced participants to strategies for transforming complex research projects into clear\, visually compelling posters that communicate a strong central message. The facilitators helped students understand how logos\, ethos\, and pathos shape not only written arguments but also visual presentations. Students analyzed sample posters through group discussions with smaller groups and with the facilitators to spot the strengths and weaknesses of each design. These exercises encouraged participants to reflect on how even the smallest design choices can influence credibility\, logical flow\, and audience engagement\, which helped the students gain practical insight into the elements required to produce a visually strong and persuasive research poster. \n\n\n\nThe session then introduced what the facilitators referred to as the “Four Secret Weapons” of design: Contrast\, Repetition\, Alignment\, and Proximity (CRAP). It emphasized how these principles work together to create a cohesive and clear visual structure that guides the viewer’s attention and strengthens overall communication. This resonated with many students\, who recognized how these principles could immediately improve their work. The workshop concluded with dedicated time for students to work on the designs for their own research project and receive personalized feedback from the facilitators\, ensuring the students leave the session equipped with both conceptual knowledge and practical skills to enhance their future research presentations. \n\n\nArticle by Mehek Elahi\, CIRS Research Assistant.
URL:https://cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu/event/cura-research-workshop-visualizing-your-research-poster-design-3/
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