Congress Topics

The congress aims to explore the historical dimensions of migration from different perspectives and disciplines, including archaeology, anthropology, sociology, psychology, geography, demography, law, and literature. The congress will also address the contemporary challenges and opportunities of migration in a globalized world, such as integration, diversity, human rights, development, and security.

**************

Archaeology: Migration, as one of the most enduring yet least accepted explanatory paradigms in cultural history, connects the growth and dissemination of culture to the movements of people. However, paradoxically, defining this theory based on archaeological evidence is quite challenging. The debate on distinguishing migration from other population movements and displacements, such as trade and invasion, continues in the distribution models developed during the theoretical and methodological advancement of archaeological research. During the congress, the phenomenon of “migration” will be discussed within a broad range of time periods and topics. The discussions will revolve around studies supported by archaeological data as well as presentations on Ancient Period models known from ancient texts and epigraphic data. These presentations aim to shed light on migration and other similar population movements as significant means for the spread of political and cultural dynamics.

Philosophy is not a discipline that has the resources to determine whether a topic or concept under consideration is right or wrong. This also applies to the concept of “migration” and all issues associated with it. In its relationship with the concept of “migration”, it is obvious that there are many problematics, including in ontological, epistemological, ethical, political and linguistic contexts. The concept of migration is one of the important problematics of today because it is related to the perception of these contextual problems as a problem that needs to be solved not only by the migrants but also by the people in the place of migration. In this regard, it is also possible that different perspectives on the concept of migration and different solutions and sometimes even different problematics may manifest themselves. In this year’s congress with the theme “Migration in the perspective of social sciences from past to today”, we invite you, our esteemed philosophers, to examine the concept of migration and every issue in relation on the basis of a philosophical point of view and to illustrate the contributions that different fields of philosophy can offer.

In the field of psychology, migration or forced migration is an important phenomenon that has different biopsychosocial outcomes and is studied in different subfields of psychology, such as clinical, social, developmental, and cognitive. Within the scope of the congress, various research related to themes such as psychological health (anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, etc.), trauma, psychosocial changes and effects, cognitive processes, coping, adaptation, acculturation, and discrimination will be included.

English Language and Literature reflects the individual and collective experiences of migrants in different genres including novel, drama, and poetry. Wars, economic and political crises are the main reasons for human mobility. English history and literature have witnessed the advantages and challenges of migration for centuries. Accordingly, representations and analyses of voluntary and involuntary migration have been studied in English literature with interdisciplinary and cross-cultural approaches. Papers that explore broad and inclusive literary, linguistic, and cultural approaches are welcome including but not limited to the following topics: migration, borders, otherness, dislocation, separation, identity, and multiculturalism.

Sociology: Social actors have changed or have to change their place of residence for different reasons from past to present. Throughout the human history, it is feasible to say that the most significant social breakdowns that occurred are due to migration. Migration is a phenomenon that brings positive or negative consequences that directly affect individuals, groups, societies, the economy, living spaces, and the natural environment. Migration studies can generally be divided into three parts (1) the reasons for migration, (2) the migration process, and (3) the analysis of changes in mainstream social structures as a result migration. The discipline of sociology deals with the concept of migration with its various scopes in order to understand its social, economic, and cultural impact. Basically, the causes of migration, the profiles of the migrating individuals/groups/society, the interactions of migration movements between dominant societies and cultures, the settlement processes of immigrant groups, and the integration of immigrants are frequently discussed topics in sociology of migration. In addition, the social networks of the groups in this process, the formation of immigrant communities, the integration of immigrants into the labour market, and the protection or change of cultural, religious, and ethnic identities are the main discussion areas of migration studies today. The papers submitted to our congress in this context will be discussed across a wide range of topics.

History: From past to present from a historical perspective migration is a fundamental phenomenon in human history that has shaped the world we live in today. From the earliest movements of Homo sapiens out of Africa to the current flows of refugees and migrants across borders, migration has been driven by various factors such as climate change, war, famine, colonization, trade, and cultural exchange. Migration has also had profound impacts on the social, economic, political, and cultural aspects of human societies, as well as on the identities, experiences, and rights of migrants themselves. Migrating individuals and groups interact with both the societies from which they come and the societies to which they go, resulting in mutual social, cultural, economic and political changes.

Turkish Language and Literature: Migration movements of Turkish communities date back to prehistoric times. The most prominent migration wave takes place between the 4th and 6th centuries, which is called the Great Migration Period. Since these dates, the Turks, who spread from Central Asia to the West for various reasons, became important political powers by being organized in different geographies. The formation of their own written language by interacting with different cultures in the new settlements of the Turkish tribes started the dialectization process in the Turkish language. This situation contributed to the enrichment and diversification of Turkish language and literature, thus adding new motifs, literary forms, different concepts and themes to language and literature. The phenomenon of migration has also manifested itself in Turkish literature, especially with the arrival of Turks from Central Asia to Anatolia in groups, and has been frequently studied until today.