Dear friends and colleagues,
We would like to invite you to our next STS-MIGTEC CIRCLE session on Wednes=
day, 24 November, 15:00-17:00 CET.
We are very happy to host Lisa Marie Borrelli (Haute Ecole de Travail Socia=
l,HES-SO Valais-Wallis). Below you can find further information about the e=
vent and registration.
Deportation Procedures in Switzerland: Infrastructural Performances
Abstract: The politicised debates on the detention and deportation of migra=
nt individuals within Europe often overlook the implementation of policies =
and laws and more specifically the role of infrastructures used to carry ou=
t deportations. Recent research has highlighted the relevance of studying t=
he infrastructures accompanying practices of migration enforcement as a cru=
cial part of the implementation process. Infrastructures, including network=
s and materials, are used to deport people from various sites and through v=
arious means; they are part of the mundanity of border enforcement but are =
also used to enact violent state practices. This contribution adds to the t=
heoretical debates with original empirical insights on deportation implemen=
tation processes in Switzerland. The ethnography followed Swiss street-leve=
l bureaucrats, caseworkers in migration offices as well as police units, in=
charge of planning and executing deportation orders. Interviews and partic=
ipant observation allowed for in-depth analysis of old and new sites of dep=
ortations and how they render practices invisible to outsiders. At the same=
time, analysing the materiality of deportation disclosed how its mundanity=
is established through reinvented uses of seemingly everyday tools that ar=
e mobilised as elements for forced displacement. Finally, the study of depo=
rtation infrastructure disclosed the performance of border control in which=
contestations of migrant individuals are strongly inhibited and state powe=
r materialises. The infrastructural approach highlights sociopolitical traj=
ectories of power, knowledge, and contestations.
Registration
Interested participants can register by writing an email to stsmigtec.circl=
e@gmail.com. The participants will then =
be provided with the link for the zoom-meeting and the draft paper the pres=
enters share for discussion. The number of participants is limited to 15 pa=
rticipants to maintain the conditions for a fruitful discussion.
About STS-MIGTEC Circle:
The STS-MIGTEC Circle is a small format which takes place once a month and =
which serves to reflect jointly on work-in-progress contributions related t=
o the themes of interest to STS MIGTEC. The idea is to create a safe space =
for probing and experimenting with ideas, arguments, attempts of analysis, =
sense-making of empirical material. It=92s the right space for you if you a=
lready invested substantial energy and dedication into that work, but you s=
till feel the piece to be raw and fragile. We invite individual scholars =
=96 of all career stages =96 to take other interested scholars on board to =
jointly reflect and discuss with care and constructive feedback.
Looking forward to a constructive discussion!
Best wishes,
Jasper and Sylvana on behalf of the STS-MIGTEC committee
