Month: July 2025

CFP U Cambridge: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Empire, Colonialism, & Anticolonialism (UK)

ConferencesCall for papers: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Empire, Colonialism, and Anticolonialism, University of Cambridge, England, 17 October 2025. Deadline: 30 August 2025.

Empire, colonialism, and anticolonialism have been central drivers of world history for the past centuries, and they continue to shape present day realities. From ongoing practices of settler colonialism, through to climate colonialism, economic imperialism, and resurgent far-right nationalisms drawing upon imageries of empire, it seems to be obvious that ‘empire’ and ‘colonialism’ have never gone away. At the same time, we are in a moment of history where we are also witnessing a proliferation of resistance against empire and colonialism: from the halls of universities (as seen in the Palestine encampments) through to frontline battles against settlers, militarized violence, and nefarious capital.

Different disciplines across the arts, humanities, and social sciences have highlighted different dimensions of these processes of colonialism and anti-colonialism. At this one-day conference, organizers hope to put these different disciplines in conversation with one another, taking the strongest tools from different disciplines, such that they can produce a truly interdisciplinary understanding of empire, colonialism, anti-colonialism, and decolonization.

With this in mind, they are issuing this call for papers for presenters from across the arts, humanities, and social sciences, open to presenters at all career stages. Expressions of interest in all areas related to empire, colonialism, anti-colonialism, and decolonization are welcome, including (but not limited to):
• Historical and comparative accounts of empire, colonialism, anti-colonialism, and decolonization.
•    Tracing material forms of resistance to empire.
• Conceptual and empirical work highlighting the importance of anticolonial thought and practice.
•  Considerations of the role of universities (and education broadly) in anti/colonialism and decolonization.
•  Tracing links between the social, political, cultural, and economic organisations of metropoles and colonies.
• Provocations and discussions of ongoing practices of colonization / anti-colonialism.

Circle U: From Recognition to Inclusion: Rethinking European Languages in Education (Germany and Online)

EventsFrom recognition to inclusion: Rethinking European languages in education, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany, and online, 26 September 2025, 10:00–17:30 CET.

Across Europe, educational systems tend to focus on hegemonial national languages—German in Germany, French in France, and so on—as legitimate means for classroom interaction. It is also these languages that are associated with European nation-states, understood as “modern languages” for educational curricula, and targeted as desirable competences in “European languages” by multilingualism policies.

However, the linguistic reality of Europe is far more diverse. Languages such as Turkish, Arabic, Russian, Kurdish, and Romani are spoken daily by large communities in Europe, and in this sense they are European languages, yet they are rarely treated as valuable cultural or educational resources.

Held on the occasion of the European Day of Languages, this open conversation explores how educational systems might move beyond narrow definitions of “European languages” and “multilingualism” towards practices of genuine linguistic inclusion—where all students’ languages are made visible, valued, and meaningfully integrated into educational life.

The programme features a keynote by Christoph Schroeder (University of Potsdam), followed by a panel discussion and a commentary from Elizabeth Beloe (German Federal Association of Networks of Migrant Organisations) on broader societal power dynamics, as well as roundtable sessions on educational policy and school culture & belonging. The panel brings together researchers, students, and practitioners who will share insights from research and practice.

This is a Circle U Open Conversation. Circle U is made up of nine European universities creating international opportunities. Other Circle U activities can be found here.

 

U Cambridge: Early Career Research Fellowship (UK)

FellowshipsEarly Career Research Fellowship, University of Cambridge, UK. Deadline: 3 September 2025.

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge (UK) invites applications for one Early-Career Research Fellowship tenable for four years from 1 October 2026. Eligible applicants are expected to be at an early stage of their career (and may not yet have completed their doctoral work). If postdoctoral, “early career” is defined as being within two years from the date of a successful viva voce examination at the time of application (that is noon on Wednesday 3 September 2025). Early-Career Research Fellows are normally expected to be resident in Cambridge for the term of their Fellowship.

This year applications will be considered in the following subjects: Modern and Medieval Languages;
Classics; Linguistics; Asian and Middle Eastern Studies.

Article about UNESCO Futures of Education 2025

“UNESCO”

Fritsch, W., Werkstetter Caravaca, A., Berger, T., & Waldow, F. (2024). Why and how they listen: on the (im) possibility of inclusion in the global governance of education. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 1-13. (open access)

Abstract: “International Organisations in the field of education face increasing demands for greater inclusivity by and of those affected by their work. IOs respond by carrying out various forms of consultations in order to maintain their legitimacy, which leads to tensions with the largely expert-driven, ‘technocratic’ mode of operation of most IOs and potentially disrupts their organisational coherence and identity. This paper examines how UNESCO and OECD navigate this tension in two recent landmark initiatives: UNESCO’s Futures of Education (2019–2022) and OECD’s Future of Education and Skills 2030 (2015-present). We argue that IOs favour ‘additive’ over ‘disruptive’ inclusion to maintain organisational coherence, raising questions about the possibility of ‘disruptive’ inclusion within global governance.”

For the purposes of this paper, we distinguish between two kinds of inclusion, which we call ‘additive’ and ‘disruptive’ inclusion, respectively . . . In processes
of additive inclusion, previously excluded actors are brought into the central narrative (as disseminated e.g. through landmark reports), yet their substantive position(s) do not substantially alter the vision of the future of education promoted by the report. . .

In contrast, disruptive forms of inclusion link the inclusion of previously excluded actors to substantial
revisions of dominant understandings of education. . .

In the cases we studied here, additive inclusion proceeded without the realisation of a disruptive agenda.

NOTE: The Center for Intercultural Dialogue held focus groups as part of the information gathering stage of the Futures of Education project, preparing what we learned as a report for UNESCO, in 2021.

 

Monash U: Lecturer in Linguistics (Australia)

“JobLecturer in Linguistics, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. Deadline: 11 August 2025.

Monash University’s Linguistics program is globally recognized for its innovative and impactful research. They seek a Lecturer who will contribute to this dynamic environment through original and collaborative research, high-quality publications, securing research funding, and PhD supervision. With expertise in general linguistics and a strong research track record in health communication, you will enhance the School’s strengths in Linguistics, Intercultural communication, and Health and Medical Humanities. In this role, you will coordinate and teach at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, developing engaging curricula in health communication, multilingualism, intercultural communication, and sociolinguistics.

As the successful candidate, you will possess strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work both independently and collaboratively across education and service sectors. You will bring analytical expertise and manuscript preparation skills, underpinned by a proven track record of refereed research publications. Your experience in tertiary-level teaching, curriculum development, and student engagement is key. In addition, you will demonstrate a commitment to scholarly research and a collegial approach to teamwork. Your expertise will enhance established research strengths in Linguistics, including health communication with a focus on multilingual populations and intercultural capabilities, multilingual language practices, linguistic justice, and the role of language in social cohesion.

Marist U: Associate Director, Marist Italy (Italy)

“JobAssociate Director, Marist Italy, Marist University, Florence, Italy. Deadline: 23 August 2025.

The Associate Director will assist the Interim Director of Marist Italy to manage branch campus operations. Major duties will include supporting day-to-day operations, developing office procedures and schedules, bookkeeping, and developing and helping to lead high impact educational experiences including internships, a lecture series, senior seminar, the honors program, and community engagement.

Applicants must be European Union (EU) citizens or have prior and ongoing permission to work in Italy – visa sponsorship is not possible at this time.

Utrecht U: Studentship: Recognizing Multicultural Strengths of Youth via Social Networks at Work (Netherlands)

“Studentships“PhD Studentship: Recognizing Multicultural Strengths of Youth via Social Networks at Work, Utrecht University, Netherlands. Deadline: 17 August 2025.

The Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences is looking for a PhD candidate to study social and psychological factors that influence youths’ transition to the labor market.

In the Netherlands, adolescents with a migration background are less likely to find (adequate) internships and first-time jobs compared to their peers without a migration background. To date, research primarily tends to focus on how a multicultural background can lead to difficulties when entering the labor market, including more discrimination, less social support, and fewer relevant working experiences compared to monocultural peers. In the current project, we take a novel approach by examining the recognition of beneficial strengths that adolescents with a migration background may bring to the labor market.

People growing up in difficult conditions develop enhanced abilities, not despite, but precisely because of their challenging experiences. Research suggests that by navigating and negotiating diverse cultural contexts, multicultural individuals can gain rich knowledge and valuable skills (e.g., perspective taking, flexibility, creativity) that can benefit youth in their internships and jobs. Yet, how does the recognition of multicultural strengths emerge among migrant youth? Do employers also recognize and value such multicultural strength among migrant youth? And can the recognition of multicultural strengths be leveraged by both youth and employers to increase chances on the labor market?

This PhD project consists of two research objectives.

Objective 1: examining how social networks contribute to the recognition of multicultural strengths in multicultural youth and potential employers. Social networks refer to the web of social relationships individuals are embedded in, such as connections with friends, family, colleagues, neighbors, and acquaintances. These networks are not merely sources of emotional support but play a central role in influencing attitudes and perceptions, as well as migrants’ chances on the labor market. You will collect ego-centric network data using a novel visualized network-data collection tool specifically designed to survey complex personal networks.

Objective 2: examining the effect of recognizing multicultural strengths among multicultural youth and potential employers on the labor market integration of multicultural youth. You will design experiments to test the direct influence of a) adolescents’ recognition of their multicultural strengths on job-related emotion, motivation and behavior and b) employers’ recognition of multicultural strengths on job applications from multicultural youth.

The project will be supervised by Verena Seibel (Interdisciplinary Social Science), Sheida Novin (Development Psychology), and Tobias Stark (Interdisciplinary Social Science), an interdisciplinary team, combining insights from sociology, developmental psychology, and social psychology.

Possible Scam Using CID LinkedIn Group

About CID

The Center for Intercultural Dialogue’s LinkedIn group has suddenly been besieged with dozens of questionable requests for membership each day.

Typically, there are several new member requests to join that group each day. These have been increasing over the last few weeks, until yesterday there were over 50, so something is very odd.

It is not entirely clear what the goal of fake profiles asking to join the group might be. LinkedIn has promised to investigate, but in the meantime I’ve been advised that this is probably some sort of scam, likely an attempt to get information about those who are legitimately part of the LinkedIn group. As a result, I am going to deny new member requests that seem at all questionable. I have also been going back to delete all potentially fake profiles (most of these provide minimal information, which goes against the whole point of a LinkedIn profile).

If you are a real person with an abbreviated profile who wants to be let in to the group over the next month or two, please send a message, stating who you are, why you are interested in joining the group, and providing the URL to your LinkedIn profile. I will then add you to the group manually.

Similarly, if you were added over the past few weeks since this started, but then discover that you have been deleted from the group, you are welcome to send a message asking to be reinstated – just provide the same information – who you are, and why you want to join. My apologies that this is necessary. And more apologies to anyone who I inappropriately deny membership.

Anyone who has had a similar experience with another LinkedIn group is invited to write and tell me what happened in that case. I am very curious about who is trying to attempt what here.

Wendy Leeds-Hurwitz, Director
Center for Intercultural Dialogue

Update as of August 19: 

Out of 421 requests in 3 weeks, LinkedIn deleted 117 as fake accounts, but they move slowly. Today I got impatient, and went through those remaining. I approved 26 as likely legitimate, and denied 278 as likely fake. So far, only 1 person has written to be requesting to be let into the group, but if I have denied you access inappropriately, please write in and briefly say why you wish to join the group. Be sure to include the URL of your LinkedIn page – many names are duplicates, and it can be difficult to locate the correct profile.

CFP 3rd International Conference on Freedom of Religion and Belief (Spain)

ConferencesCall for proposals: Third International Conference on Freedom of Religion and Belief, Faculty of Communication and International Relations Blanquerna (Ramon Llull University), Barcelona, Spain, 28-30 January 2026. Deadline: 14 September 2025.

The Third International Conference on Freedom of Religion and Belief, convened by the Chair of Religious Freedom and Conscience of Catalonia and the Blanquerna Observatory on Media, Religion and Culture, will take place in Barcelona on 28 – 30 January, 2026. The goals of the conference are to:

  • Share good practices at the local, regional or international level in regards to the management of religious diversity and the promotion of religious freedom.
  • Analyze the international standards that assess the exercise of the right to religious freedom and the prevention of violations to the right.
  • Create a debate among experts and members of international institutions about the international situation and trends in freedom of religion and conscience, as well as methodologies, categories and indicators for the analysis of the reality of religious freedom.

Practical proposals that explain initiatives on religious freedom, the promotion of interreligious and interfaith dialogue are also welcome. In this case, a summary of what will be presented is also required, with a maximum of 500 words, along with the author’s institution. Communications can be submitted in Catalan, Spanish, English, or French.

U Basel: Forum Basiliense Junior Fellows: Conflict and Cooperation (Switzerland)

FellowshipsForum Basiliense Junior Fellows, University of Basel, Switzerland. Deadline: 31 July 2025.

In 2026, the intellectual focus for the groups of international fellows and guests at the Forum Basiliense will be “Conflict and Cooperation”. With this theme, the Forum Basiliense will be addressing the numerous conflicts and crises in the contemporary world. In this interdisciplinary space, ongoing scholarly engagement with conflicts and their dynamics can establish dialogues with research on exemplary forms of cooperation and the conceptual foundations of cooperative action. This dual focus deliberately combines two conceptual fields in order to reflect on how problems of conflict and cooperation relate to and illuminate each other. We encourage applications focused on this theme in any of the disciplines represented at the University of Basel.

They invite fellows for visits of three to six months during 2026, preferably during the spring or the autumn term. Fellows are expected to participate in events and in scientific exchange (a regular colloquium) during their stay.

Your Profile: You hold an excellent PhD or a junior professorship in any of the disciplines represented at the University of Basel. Fellowships are awarded based on scientific merit, the quality of the application, and how the application speaks to the theme of “Conflict and Cooperation”. They welcome applications from all over the world.