The theme of the second International Conference on Islamophobia is “From Orientalism to Islamophobia?”. It covers both historical and contemporary issues surrounding Orientalism and Islamophobia. We are interested in the various facets of the Orientalist perspective and observing continuities and breaches within it. While some authors argue that contemporary Islamophobia should be seen as a continuation of Orientalism, others emphasize that the two phenomena should be considered and conceived separately from each other. Moreover, looking at Islamophobia through a postcolonial lens raises pertinent questions about the persistence, peculiarity and analogy of Orientalism and Islamophobia. This is particularly reflected in recent publications, which include concepts of power and governance in their definition of Islamophobia.
Case studies as well as theoretical, conceptual and methodological reflections are welcome. We are especially interested in contributions that address the relationship between Orientalism, Postcolonialism and Islamophobia. Proposals for a presentation including a title, an abstract (max. 300 words) and a short biography should be sent to dirk.fischer@unifr.ch before 1st January 2016. Accommodation and subsistence expenses will be covered by the convenors; the participants are in charge of their own travel costs. The conference languages are English and German.
The 2nd International Conference on Islamophobia is organised by the Department of Historical Sciences, Contemporary History, University of Fribourg (Switzerland) in cooperation with the Department of Political Science, Salzburg University (Austria).