Exploring Academic Futures: Exiled Scholars (In-Person)
About this Event
Organised by the Social Policy Research Centre and the Migration, Politics and Society Cluster at Middlesex University and the British Academy Early Career Research Network
Date: 12 November 2026 (Hybrid)
This is the registration page for the in-person event. Go here to book for online attendance: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/exploring-academic-futures-exiled-scholars-online-tickets-2003668445257?aff=oddtdtcreator
Agenda:
In-person registration 1.30-2pm (with refreshments)
Start: 2pm
End: 6pm (short reception to follow)
Venue: Middlesex University, Creativity Suite C219 College Building
Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible
Description
As political instability and authoritarian regimes, armed conflict, and climate-related disasters spread globally, increasing numbers of academics are forced into displacement. The UK has become one of the most popular destinations yet many exiled scholars find it difficult to navigate the challenges of an unfamiliar and frequently opaque UK academic system. Thus universities may offer access while at the same time maintaining institutional arrangements, educational practices and established recognition of merit that limit participation and progression. The workshop consists of a presentation based on research conducted amongst displaced scholars in the UK followed by two panels on navigating academic futures in the UK and beyond.
Presentation
This presentation “I have my network…” The role of capitals in (re)producing "privileged precarities" among displaced scholars in British academia”, França and Kofman is based on a research project conducted with 14 interviews with displaced scholars (Afghanistan, Palestine, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela) in the UK and draws on Bourdieu's concept of capitals, to examine how displaced academics are differently positioned within British academia. It explores how institutional valuation, that is, what HEIs recognise and reward, shapes access to academic opportunities and support. We also draw on the notion of "privileged precarities" to analyse the in-between positions of scholars who gain formal access to British academia while remaining at the margins of its institutional hierarchies, and extend the concept by showing how these precarities are differentiated by scholars' forms of capital and social divisions.
Panel 1: Navigating Academic Identity and Future Pathways in the UK
This panel explores how exiled and at-risk scholars negotiate academic identity, career progression, belonging, and professional networks within a changing and turbulent UK higher education landscape.
Panel 2: Academic Futures Beyond the UK
The second panel broadens the discussion to Europe and North America, examining how different higher education systems support displaced scholars and what lessons can be learned across contexts.
NB: BA ECRN members attending in-person must register here, not through Eventbrite: https://portal.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/events/event/a3GQA000001tdJV?recordId=a3GQA000001tdJV
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
GBP 0.00
