Migration and Integration
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About the Cluster
The ISS21 Migration and Integration Cluster brings together researchers with an interest in issues of migration, integration and cultural diversity, from a wide range of disciplines including Applied Psychology, Applied Social Studies, Education, Geography, Languages, Law, Philosophy, Sociology and Study of Religions.
Cluster members have researched and published widely in areas such as: youth mobility; refugees and asylum; gender and migration; migrant narratives of identity, place and belonging; immigration policy and law; institutional racism; models of integration; child trafficking; multiculturalism and human rights; migrant children; international justice; travel writing; and religion and migrant identities.
Interdisciplinary research in migration and integration is well-established among cluster members, building in part upon the pioneering work of UCC’s Irish Centre for Migration Studies in the late 1990s and early 2000s (Director P. Mac Éinrí). Members of the cluster cooperate regularly through ongoing collaborative research projects, joint supervision of PhD students and hosting regular seminars.
The Cluster and ISS21 are delighted to represent UCC as a full member of IMISCOE (International Migration Research Network).
Cluster Events
The migration and integration cluster organises regular events at which cluster members and invited speakers can present their research to the university and wider community. Highlights from recent years include:
Migrant 'Crisis' in the Mediterranean? - Perspectives from Italy, 5 March, 2024.
Presenters: Angela Caponnetto and Prof. Nando Sigona. Seminar hosted by the Migration and Integration Cluster and the Department of Italian, followed by books launch.
Racism and the rise of the far right – historical and international perspectives, 19 February 2024.
Presenters: Dr Piaras Mac Éinrí and Dr Amin Sharifi Isaloo. Hosted by the ISS21 Migration and Integration Cluster as part of UCC Refugee Week 2024.
European Union Governance of Forced Migration: Impact on Health and Dignity, 22 February 2024.
Presenters: Dr. Apostolos Veizis, INTERSOS, Greece. Hosted by the ISS21 Migration and Integration Cluster and supported by University of Sanctuary as part of UCC Refugee Week 2024.
Navigating the hostile environment - Afghan evacuees in London, 14 November, 2023.
Seminar co-hosted by the Department of Sociology & Criminology and the ISS21 Migration and Integration Research Cluster, with visiting speaker Professor Louise Ryan, London Metropolitan University.
Im/possibilities of settlements and onward movements: An intersectional framework to analyse home-making experiences, 25th April, 2023.
Dr. Mastoureh Fathi (Department of Sociology & Criminology, UCC) presented a paper on home making among different migrant groups in various contexts, based on the findings of the EMNaH project.
Border Securitisation and the Criminalization of Migration Inside Schengen: The case of the Franco-Spanish border in the Basque Country, 24 Feb. 2023
Paper presented by Dr. Gustavo de la Orden Bosch (University of Deusto) as part of UCC Refugee Week, 2023. This event was co-hosted with UNIC. Details available here
Researcher's Nightworkshop: Reaching out to vulnerable migrant nightworkers, 12 Dec. 2022
Dr JC Macarie (MSCA Research Fellow) presented a paper on precarity amongst migrant night workers, based on his current & previous research.
Securitised Borders: Human Security Migrant Mobilities & Resistance, 23 Sept. 2022
This half-day event on border securitisation included presentations from national and international speakers. Details available here A recording of the event (in two parts) is available at the following links: Part 1 Part 2
Migration from North America: An Overview from a Mexican Perspective, 22 Feb. 2022
As part of Refugee Week 2022, the Migration and Integration Research Cluster and University of Sanctuary UCC hosted a seminar on return migration, with presenter Aranzazu González Hernández. Details available here
Ethnic Discrimination in the Irish Housing Market: Evidence from two Field Experiments, Nov. 2021
On 4th November 2021 the Migration and Integration Research Cluster hosted a seminar with Dr. Egle Gusciute (Department of Sociology and Criminology, UCC) on the theme of ethnic discrimination in the Irish rental housing market. Further details are available here
Migration Narratives: A Critical Exploration, February 2021
As part of Refugee Week 2021, the ISS21 Migration and Integration Research Cluster and the University of Sanctuary Working Group co-hosted a webinar on migration narratives, with speaker Kilian Kleinschmidt (CEO of the Innovation and Planning Agency). Further details and a recording of the presentation are available here
Contested Spaces of Belonging: Asylum, Direct Provision and Beyond, September 2019
On 6th September 2019 the cluster hosted a symposium to explore current questions relating to asylum and contested spaces of belonging, in particular issues relating to power/politics, belonging/not-belonging and place/space for asylum-seekers and refugees. Dr Jonathan Darling (Durham University) delivered the keynote speech on the privatisation of dispersal accommodation and reception services for asylum seekers in the UK. Further details available here
Beyond Trafficking: Reflections on Research with Child and Youth Migrants, April 2018
In April 2018, the cluster held a half-day symposium at which visiting academic Dr. Roy Huijsmans (Erasmus University, Rotterdam) presented the findings of his research with child and youth migrants in the majority world, followed by a round table discussion with ISS21 members. Further details available here
Looking Ahead: Brexit, Borders and Belongings, March 2017
This half-day event explored key questions raised by the prospect of Brexit in relation to international borders, migrations, im/mobilities and belongings. Further details available here
Crisis, Mobility and New Forms of Migration, September 2014
From 2-4 September 2014 the Migration and Integration cluster hosted a major international conference which explored the key ways that economic, social and political crises in Europe have changed people’s migration patterns and life chances. As part of the conference, the cluster also hosted the launch of four books by members of the cluster. Further details available here
Details on other events, hosted as part of the cluster's internal seminar series at which members present their research, can be found at the following link: Migration & Integration Seminar Series
Research Projects
ISS21 research projects linked to the themes of the Migration and Integration Research Cluster include:
EUROBORDERWALKS Walking Borders, Risk and Belonging: advances in ethno-mimetic research in the making and re-making of three European borders. Funded through the IRC Advanced Laureate Awards programme.
PRECNIGHTS: Precarity Amongst Women Migrant Nightworkers in Ireland (2022-2024) Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Fellowship project.
MiEdC&E: Migrant Education: Challenges and Exclusion (2023-2024) Funded by the UNIC Seed Fund Initiative.
IMMERSE: Integration Mapping of Refugee and Migrant Children in Schools and other Experiential Environments in Europe (2018-2023) Funded by Horizon 2020.
EMNaH: Elderly (non)migrants’ narratives of home: A comparative study of place-making in Ireland & Slovakia. Funded by the IRC New Foundations programme.
Inclusive Volunteering: Exploring Migrant Participation in Volunteerism (2020-2021) Funded by the Irish Research Council.
EMBRACE: Exploring Mobility: Borders, Refugees & Challenging Exclusion (2020-2021) Irish Research Council New Foundations Programme.
YOUTH-HOME: Migrant male youth home-making in Ireland (2019-2021) Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship project.
MusConYP: Music Consumption and Young People’s Negotiation of Space in Direct Provision: An A/r/tographic Inquiry (May-Dec. 2019) Funded by the Irish Research Council (IRC).
YMOBILITY: Maximizing opportunities for individuals, labour markets and regions in Europe (2015-2018) Funded by Horizon 2020.
Transnational Commuting (2013-2015) Marie Curie Fellowship project
Emigration and Return: profiling today's generation of emigrants and their propensity to return (2012-2013) Funder by the IRC Collaborative Projects Scheme.
TCRAfEu: Transnational Childraising Arrangements between Europe and Africa (2010-2013) A transnational comparative study funded by the Norface Research Programme Migration in Europe.
Migration and Networks of Care (2006-2009) Funded by the European Social Fund.
Migrant Domestic Workers and Migration Law in the EU. Funded by the Irish Research Council.
Gender Equality, Religious Diversity and Multiculturalism in Contemporary Ireland. Funded by the Irish Research Council for Humanities and Social Sciences.
Cluster Membership
For a list of cluster members, please click on the following link: Cluster Members
If you are interested in joining the cluster, please contact the cluster leader, Dr. Caitriona Ni Laoire, c.nilaoire@ucc.ie