The latest in a series of Grand Challenges lectures from the Institute of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Abstract

The Maghreb Action on Displacement and Rights (MADAR Arabic for 'path') is an international project which deploys an interdisciplinary approach to respond to the complex protection needs of displaced people in the Maghreb. While it is often assumed to be a region of emigration and transit (South-North), the Maghreb is an important migration hub with links to Africa, the Middle East and Europe, it is increasingly a destination, including for thousands of displaced people fleeing conflict and endemic poverty. As a consequence, Maghreb hosts a large number of vulnerable displaced people. Responding to the UN Sustainable Development Goal 16 (to promote peaceful and inclusive societies) MADAR aims to address challenges faced by displaced people across the Maghreb region. This lecture will focus on preliminary findings from the MADAR’s team through a range of case studies in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. It will provide insights into challenging field sites, the transformational role of creative methods to engage with research participants and their lived experiences in adverse and volatile socio-political contexts. 

Biography

Mariangela Palladino is Professor of Postcolonial and Cultural Studies, and Dean of Research in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Keele. Her fields of expertise include postcolonial studies, migration and displacement, participatory methods, research ethics, and African literatures. She is currently Principal Investigator of the UKRI-funded project The Maghreb Action on Displacement and Rights. Mariangela holds degrees from the Università degli Studi di Napoli L'Orientale (Italy) and the University of Strathclyde (UK). Prior to joining Keele, Mariangela has held teaching and research positions in the UK at the Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh, and in Portugal at the University of Coimbra.  

This lecture will be available in person as well as online via Microsoft Teams.  For those attending in person, refreshments will be available from 5.30pm onwards.  For those attending online, please register (by no later than 4.00pm on the day of the lecture) and joining instructions with further information will follow ahead of the lecture. 

This lecture is free and all are welcome to attend.

 

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