“Behind the data: quantitative approaches to interdisciplinary racism research” organized by the WinRa Regional Network South: University of Bayreuth & University of Mannheim
October 23rd, 2pm to October 25th, 12pm
University of Bayreuth
The second conference of the Racism Research Knowledge Network (WinRa) is organized jointly by the Universities of Bayreuth (Chair of Economic Geography) and Mannheim (Chair of Comparative Sociology). It will take place from October 23rd to 25th at the University of Bayreuth. The conference, titled “Behind the Data: Quantitative Approaches in Interdisciplinary Racism Research,” will bring together a range of academics, including early-career scholars, from various fields who represent different theoretical frameworks and methodological approaches to racism research. With a focus on empirical methods, the event will introduce quantitative approaches to studying racism in areas ranging from Economics and Sociology to Education Studies, Psychology, Health Research, Geography, and Media Studies. The event will also feature researchers leveraging recent advances in big data and machine learning, an area that remains underappreciated in critical theoretical and qualitative research on racism.
In addition to discussing diverse approaches, key concepts, thematic boundaries, key controversies, methodological challenges and advances, the conference will bring together members of civil society organizations and activists working in action research and education to inform anti-racism policy.
The conference operates through a mixture of curated events and open-call slots, providing researchers with the opportunity to present their work. We particularly encourage early career scholars who work with quantitative or mixed methods to submit paper or poster abstracts related to the following themes:
- Racism, racial discrimination and economics
- Racism and health, well-being and stress
- Racism and public spaces (including social media spaces)
- Racism and labour markets, schools and educational systems
- Racism and judiciary and police
- Racism and artificial intelligence
- Measurement and operationalization of racism
- Innovative methods of studying racism and racial discrimination
Please note that registration slots are limited to 100. They will be allocated in the order of registration. Individuals in the first 100 list will receive a confirmation of their attendance via email by June 1st.
Individuals who wish to participate in the conference should register regardless of whether they plan to present a paper/poster. Those who wish to present a paper or poster should additionally check the respective box and submit abstracts by May 1st. Both paper and poster abstracts should be 250 words.
A limited number of travel stipends are available to support (junior) scholars in need. The stipend is given only to those who will be presenting a paper at the conference.
Prof. William A. Darity: The opening keynote will be given by Prof. Dr. William A. Darity (Duke University), a renowned economist recognised for his scholarly contributions to the economics of inequality and stratification. His research focuses on racial disparities, labour economics, and public policy and has been published in leading economics journals, including the American Economic Review. Professor Darity also has become a leading voice in advocating for equitable economic policies in the US. More lately, this has included spearheading the call for economic reparations for descendants of enslaved people in the United States. For this work, he has repeatedly worked with writer, folklorist, museum consultant and lecturer Kirsten Mullen, who will also attend the conference.
Dr. Dharmi Kapadia: Dr. Dharmi Kapadia is a Sociologist at The University of Manchester and is known for her research on discrimination and social inequality. Her investigations traverse domains such as race, ethnicity, gender, mental well-being, illness, sexuality, and beyond, shedding light on the complex interplay of power dynamics and societal structures that underpin discriminatory practices. She has been involved in several prominent projects and studies on inequality in the UK, such as the Evidence for Equality National Survey (EVENS) and the ESRC Centre on Dynamics of Ethnicity.
Prof. Andreas Zick: Prof. Dr. Andreas Zick is a prominent German social psychologist known for his extensive empirical research on discrimination and intergroup relations. He currently holds the Socialization Research and Political Psychology chair at Bielefeld University in Germany. His research focuses on understanding the psychological processes underlying discrimination, prejudice, and intergroup conflict. Professor Zick has made key contributions to the study of “group-focused enmity”, an attempt to capture attitudes in the domain of racism, extremism, discrimination and Social Darwinism into one unified concept.
Further information about the conference can be obtained by email at: nasir.abbas@uni-bayreuth.de
