Regional Network on Southern European Communities

by Gabriella Laxaridis & Eleni Nina-Pazarzi

ESA Research Network

The aim of the network is to facilitate sociological research in southern Europe and of southern European Communities abroad and to encourage communication and cooperation between sociologists and between sociologists and other social scientists interested in the region.
The network has three foci, the selection of which is based on the research areas of most colleagues who expressed an interest in participating in this network:

• Migration, Ethnicity, Citizenship and Nationality, Multiculturalism, New Racisms and Xenophobia, Nationalism, New Social Identities, Social Exclusion;
• Gender Relations and Sexuality;
• Public Policy (including Social Policy and the Welfare State, Environmental Policy, Regional Policy, Agricultural and Industrial Development Policies).

Each area will shortly have a sub-coordinator, who, in collaboration with the main coordinators of the network, will be responsible for:

a) the organisation of small workshops and seminars and mini-conferences at regular intervals (once a year);

b) the compilation and dissemination of information (via the Internet) to the members of the network;

c) the establishment of collaborative research links;

d) the organisation of a meeting of all members of the network at the ESA conference.

The main reasons for establishing this network are the following:
The interest expressed to us by many colleagues for the creation of such a network and for the need of a forum of this sort which will facilitate co-operation among researchers (scholars) in southern European countries and abroad. Until now, Southern Europe has been underrepresented both in terms of active participation in congresses and conferences and in terms of cross-national comparative research proposals seeking funding from prestigious funding bodies in Europe and elsewhere. This is partly due to lack of communication facilities/fora and partly due to inertia - both of which we will try to overcome via the activities of this network. The network will also give an opportunity for further activities within the auspices of the European Sociological Association.

The network was launched at the Conference Nation and Migration in Southern Europe organised by Prof. F. Anthias and Dr. G. Lazaridis and held on 18-20 December 1995 at the University of Greenwich. It now has more than 100 participants.

Coordinators:

Gabriella Laxaridis
Department of Political Science and Social Policy, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 4HN, United Kingdom
Fax: +44 1382 344675
Phone: +44 1382 344205

Eleni Nina-Pazarzi
Department of Business Administration,
University of Piraeus, Karaoli and Dimitriou 80, Piraeus, Greece
Fax/Phone: +30 1 6544703

EURODATA Newsletter No. 3 Article 4