Looking at forced migration through an interdisciplinary lens
International research image: Natalia Donner
Researchers at Leiden University and the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) have launched an initiative to learn more about the experiences of migrants travelling through the Darién Gap, with a focus on forced migration.
Leiden University is represented by the Faculty of Humanties (Natalia R. Donner, International Studies) en the Leiden Law School (Maartje van der Woude, Van Vollenhoven Instituut) in the project. The initiative is a collaboration with the Seminar for the Study of Internal Displacement, Migration, Exile, and Repatriation (Luciana Gandini; National Autonomous University of Mexico, UNAM).
The project partners were awarded a Leiden University Global Seed Fund to carry out an international workshop in Mexico in November of this year. The project, titled, 'The lived experiences of forced migration: an interdisciplinary view of the Darién Gap crossing', will gather academic and non-academic scholars from Latin America, Europe, and the United States, to discuss interdisciplinary approaches to the so-called migration crisis in Eastern Panama. The aim is to set up a line of research and a research team to establish collaborations.
This project aims to address research gaps through an international, interdisciplinary workshop focused on forced migration through the Darién Gap. The event will combine presentations, workgroups, discussions, and documentary screenings, bringing together archaeology, political economy, socio-legal studies, ethnography, and art. By blending academic and non-academic perspectives from both the Global South and Global North, this collaborative research group will create a blueprint for interdisciplinary migration studies and lay the groundwork for a larger collaborative project.
This project, that aligns with the Leiden University’s interdisciplinary research programme Social Citizenship & Migration, will apply research to tackle global challenges like forced migration and further position Leiden University as a leader in international, interdisciplinary research.