Focus on: Narration and Migration

CNR projects investigate the nexus of narration and migration from different perspectives. On the one hand, we focus on narrative representations of forced displacement, migration and mobility in literature, film, theater and art. We investigate how such narratives question out-dated conceptions of national sovereignty and cultural identity, how they explore new ways of engaging with borders and migrant states of exception, and how they make the case for new inclusive models of society.

On the other hand, transdisciplinary narrative research at the CNR teams up with social scientists, NGOs, and other stakeholders to model and test the transformative potential of migration narratives. In our ongoing collaborative research project “Crises as OPPORTUNITIES: Towards a Level Telling Field on Migration and a New Narrative of Successful Integration” (Horizon 2020) CNR researchers are working with universities and NGOs from nine European and three African countries to understand, among other things, the nexus of migration and narrative dynamics and the forms of vicarious storytelling in migration discourses. Our key concept is the Level Telling Field, a new perspective on the ways in which migration is perceived and debated in the public sphere. Level telling fields are playbooks and mechanisms for an open, constructive, and productive debate – the cornerstone of a democratic and pluralist society.

In early 2024, the OPPORTUNITIES project will launch a podcast series, offering insights on cutting edge-research and migration-related news. Scholars and scientists, practitioners, and artists from Europe and Africa reflect on how their work contributes to a new narrative on migration and integration.
 

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