Course Instructor

Elena Arigita

Elena Arigita, University of Granada

Elena Arigita (PhD University of Granada) is a permanent lecturer of Arab and Islamic Studies at the Department of Semitic Studies of the University of Granada. Previously, she worked as language lecturer at the Universities of Cairo (1994-1997) and Al-Azhar (1997-1998) in Egypt; as postdoctoral fellow at the International Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World (ISIM) in Leiden (2004-2006); and as senior researcher at Casa Árabe (Cordoba), were she was responsible for the programme Muslims of the West (2007-2012). She is member of a research group on Contemporary Arab Studies at the UGR, and another one on Arab Ideologies and Cultural Expressions at the Autonomous University of Madrid. Her research interests and publications deal with religious authority and the institutionalization of Islam, and the politics of inclusion and exclusion of Islam in Europe.

Partners:

Florian Bieber, University of Graz

Florian Bieber (PhD, University of Vienna) is a Professor of Southeast European History and Politics and Director of the Centre for Southeast European Studies at the University of Graz, Austria. He studied history and political science at Trinity College (USA), University of Vienna and Central European University. Between 2001 and 2006, he worked in Belgrade (Serbia) and Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) for the European Centre for Minority Issues. He is a Visiting Professor at the Nationalism Studies Program at Central European University and has taught at the University of Kent, Cornell University, University of Bologna and the University of Sarajevo. He currently holds the Jean Monnet Chair in the Europeanisation of Southeastern Europe.

Dovile Jakniunaite, Vilnius University

Dovile Jakniunaite is professor at the Institute of International Relations and Political Science of Vilnius University, head of the Institute's International Relations Department. Her main research fields are foreign policy analysis, security studies, international relations theory, border studies, Russian foreign policy, conflicts in Georgia and Ukraine, unrecognized de facto states. She is the author of the books on Russia's neighbourhood policy and on Georgia's territorial conflicts, currently is doing research on mobility in the pandemic context and concept of periphery in Eastern Europe and Baltic States.

Ireneusz Pawel Karolewski, Leipzig University

Ireneusz Pawel Karolewski is professor for political theory and democracy research at the University of Leipzig. In 2009-2019, he was the professor of political science at the University of Wroclaw, visiting professor at the Harvard University, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Université de Montréal. Karolewski obtained his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Potsdam, where he was assistant professor from 1999 to 2009. His main areas of research are collective identity, democratic backsliding and nationalism. His more recent books include European Identity Revisited (Routledge, 2016) and The Nation and Nationalism in Europe (Edinburgh University Press, 2011).

Marco Mascia, University of Padova

Marco Mascia, PhD in International Relations; Professor of International Relations at the University of Padua. In the same University he is Chair holder of the UNESCO Chair “Human Rights, Democracy and Peace"; Chair holder of the Jean Monnet Chair “Political System of the European Union”; member of the Academic Board of the Joint International PhD Programme in "Human Rights, Society, and Multi-level Governance", amongst others. His research focus is on questions of international democracy and world order, global civil society, human rights and human security, local authority and human rights, European Union and democratic deficit. His publications include “The Making of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union”, “Human Rights and Responsibilities of an International Order”, “The effects of COVID-19 on the EU approach on the rule of law: implications for the Commission and European Parliament”.

Agnes Grond, University of Graz

Agnes Grond holds a post-doctoral research position at treffpunkt sprachen - Centre for Language, Plurilingualism and Didactics, University of Graz. Her research on Kurdish diaspora languages in Austria draws on the concepts of critical sociolinguistics with a special focus on new methodological approaches and the development of a practical framework for a broader understanding of the relation between environmental input, language policies, and language ideologies on language use in multilingual communication. Recent book projects include “Literale Lebenswelten. Sozialisationsprozesse in einer kurdischen Migrantenfamilie“ (Mouton de Gruyter) and the edited volumes “Mountains as Frontier Arenas. A collection of essays on early modern Kurdish history“ and “Central Anatolia. Linguistic and Cultural Diversity” (both Grazer Plurilingualismusstudien). She is co-editor of the Vienna Kurdish studies Yearbook.

Regine Paul, University of Bergen

Professor in Political Science at Bergen University’s Department of Government and Co-Editor of Critical Policy Studies. Her research in comparative public policy governance draws on critical political economy and science and technology studies, with an empirical focus on migration/mobility and risk regulation, including artificial intelligence technologies. Her recent books include: “The Political Economy of Border-Drawing” (Berghahn), "Varieties of Risk Analysis in Public Administrations" (Routledge) and the "Handbook on the Governance and Politics of Migration" (Elgar, co-edited). She holds a PhD in Social and Policy Science from the University of Bath/UK (2012) and had post-doc positions at Bielefeld University/Germany, as a John F. Kennedy Memorial Fellow at the Center for European Studies at Harvard University, and as Interim Professor in Comparative Political Science at Kassel University/Germany.

Synnøve Bendixsen, University of Bergen

Synnøve Bendixsen (PhD, Humboldt University and Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Science Sociales, cotutelle) is Professor and Head of Department of Social Anthropology, University of Bergen, Norway.  She is also a Research Professor at Chr. Michelsen Institute (Norway), where she is part of the Research Council of Norway project SuperCamp – the Middle East as a regional zone of containment. Bendixsen studied politics and policy as London School of Economics and Political Science and Institute des Etudes en Science Politique (Paris). She has conducted anthropological research on refugees and irregular migrants in Norway, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on young Muslims and religiosity in Germany and on parenting practices in Norway. Her research focus is on questions of marginalization processes, border constructions, urban life and diversity. She is the co-editor for the Palgrave Macmillan series Approaches to Social Inequality and Difference. Photo: Eivind Senneset for the University of Bergen

Ling Han, Padova University

Ling Han, PhD in Political Science (“Human Rights, Society and Multi-level Governance”), holds a post-doctoral research position at the Human Rights Centre “Antonio Papisca” at the same university. As a young human rights scholar, her research interests are multiciliary, including the EU Global Human Rights Sanction Regime and its impacts, the role of human right in the EU-China relations, trafficking in persons in China, and international human rights law. She is the associated editor of the International Journal of Human Rights.

Ieva Giedraityte, Vilnius University

Ieva Giedraityte, MA in Latin American Studies (Barcelona University, 2010) and PhD in Political Science (Vilnius University, 2021), works at the Institute of International Relations and Political Science and has eight years of experience in research and teaching. Her research interests are EU external action (focus on development cooperation and relations with the Mediterranean countries), Latin American studies (focus on Central America), and development cooperation). She spent several years working as a trainee for different EU development cooperation bodies (DG DEVCO and in the EU Delegation in Honduras). Ieva is also a member of the European Studies master programme study committee and participates in the ARQUS network, working on a joint European Studies master programme.