[ecrea] Open call - Mobile work-life arrangements: exploring conceptual and methodological challenges. An Interdisciplinary Late-Summer School

OPEN CALL





MOBILE WORK-LIFE ARRANGEMENTS: EXPLORING CONCEPTUAL AND METHODOLOGICAL 
CHALLENGES. An Interdisciplinary Late-Summer School





9-18 October, 2015





University of Freiburg, Germany







Convened by: COME (Research Group Cultures of Mobility in Europe) and 
ANTHROMOB (EASA Anthropology and Mobility Network)





Anna Lipphardt (Freiburg); Jamie Coates (Waseda/Sheffield) and Roger 
Norum (Leeds/UCL)





Funded by Volkswagen Foundation







OVERVIEW



The interdisciplinary field of mobility studies has produced a broad 
spectrum of theoretical works and structural analyses, driven by 
research focusing on recent innovation in transport and communication. 
Within that field, economic and work-related aspects of mobility, are 
often treated as distinct from other life practices. This late-summer 
school aims to contribute to the field of mobility studies with respect 
to two key issues: First, it will turn attention to the interplay 
between work and non-work (e.g. leisure, family life, well-being) 
spheres of life linked to mobility. Second, it focuses on the 
complexities of mobile work-life arrangements as they play out in the 
everyday lives of an ever-growing number of people worldwide, across the 
economic spectrum and across diverse professional and socio-cultural fields.



The late-summer school explicitly aims to bring together people studying 
a range of empirical cases including (but not limited to) research 
across the following subjects:



- peripatetic and pastoralist groups



- transport-sector professionals



- artists, creatives and travelling entertainers



- seasonal and project-based labourers



- academics



- lifestyle migrants.





OBJECTIVES AND KEY QUESTIONS



The late-summer school has two core objectives:



1. Providing a forum for discussing qualitative methodological 
approaches to mobility, including multi-sited, mobile or trajectory 
ethnography; life-course and life-world analyses; and newly-emerging 
ICT-based methods;



2. Exploring the differing forms of knowledge production concomitant 
with mobile work-life arrangements, it will encourage a critical 
reflection of the theoretical frameworks, empirical operationalisations 
and political discourses that implicitly or explicitly inform much 
research on mobile groups. Our intention is to bring together different 
epistemic communities, thus fostering a comparative perspective.





Key questions which the late-summer school will address are:



- How do we develop a critical analytical position in light of the 
complex entanglements between the political and economic discourses on 
certain mobile groups, the conceptual approaches of our respective 
research disciplines, and the emic perspectives of the people we study?



- What are the advantages, challenges, and limitations of differing 
analytical models such as multi-sited ethnography, qualitative case 
study, life-course analysis, or phenomenology in exploring mobile 
work-life arrangements?



- How can we compare or generalise insights gained from qualitative 
studies on specific mobile fields? And how can we employ empirical 
research to advance theoretical stances on mobility, both within a given 
research area and across disciplinary divides?





PROGRAMME AND WORKING FORMATS



The programme includes keynote lectures and advanced seminars by Noel 
Salazar (University of Leuven), Michaela Benson (Goldsmiths University) 
and Huub van Baar (University of Amsterdam/Giessen University). It also 
comprises presentations by doctoral students, workshops on mobile 
methods and representational strategies, informal discussions on 
practical issues of mobile/multi-sited fieldwork, career and 
professional development sessions, a film screening, and recreational 
activities. The working language is English.





WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR



The programme is aimed at doctoral students working on projects situated 
in qualitative social research focusing on issues related to mobile 
work-life arrangements. The common ground for all participants will be 
their interest in the labour/economic aspects of the mobile empirical 
fields they study, their footing in qualitative social research, and a 
shared interest in the epistemology of Mobility Studies. We welcome 
applications from doctoral students based in disciplines such as 
cultural and social anthropology, sociology, political science, social 
work, education, geography, and relevant interdisciplinary research 
fields including mobility, communication, environmental, transport and 
labour studies. Doctoral students at any stage of their research - 
including beginners - are invited to present work in progress and to 
discuss central research issues with which they are currently concerned. 
To ensure an open and collaborative learning environment, the number of 
participants
 will be limited to a maximum of 25.





APPLICATION



Interested applicants are asked to submit the following materials to the 
convenors by email up until August 10, 2015:





1. Curriculum Vitae (1 page);



2. Short description of your dissertation project (1-2 pages);



3. Personal statement (1-2 pages) that answers the following:



- Why do you wish to attend the Mobile Work-Life Arrangements 
Late-Summer School?



- What specific aspects of your dissertation and fieldwork are you most 
interested in discussing?





Successful applicants will be notified by email by the 3rd week of August.





ACCOMODATION AND TRAVEL GRANTS



It is expected that participants take part in the full duration of the 
late-summer school. All meals and accommodation will be covered, as will 
reimbursement for the following travel expenses: up to 150 Euro for 
participants from Germany; up to 300 Euro for those from other European 
countries; and up to 800 Euro for students who come from overseas. 
Participants from developing countries and from countries affected by 
current economic crises are eligible to apply for full travel funding.





For more information, please see www.mobworklife.net 
<http://www.mobworklife.net/>. Please feel free to contact us for 
specific questions about the programme or application.





CONTACT



Marion Villalobos



Research Group Cultures of Mobility in Europe (COME)



Institute for Cultural Anthropology/Folkloristics



University of Freiburg



Maximilianstra?e 15





D-79100 Freiburg



Germany





Phone: +49 (0) 761-203-9 76 98



Email: (info /at/ mobworklife.net) <mailto:(info /at/ mobworklife.net)>

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