Call for Papers
“Young People’s (Self-)Positioning in the World: Subjectivities, Discourses, and Inequalities”
International Conference: Sept. 8-10, 2026, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany
Organizers: Jessica Schwittek, Alexandra König and Katarzyna Jendrzey
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The concept of (self-)positioning captures how young people locate themselves – locally,
transnationally, and globally. Self-positioning can be understood as a reflexive process through which
young people develop images of who they are – and aspire to be – that are tied to geographical spaces.
Such self-positioning is shaped by interactions through which young people learn how others move in
the world, to what extent (im)mobility is expected of them, and the significance attributed to certain
countries and places. Their (self-)positionings are therefore not only spatial but also inherently
temporal and relational. Furthermore, self-positioning is shaped by structural conditions and power
relations, such as wealth gaps, legal frameworks, or gender and generational structures. In addition,
processes of (self-)positioning unfold within dynamic global migration developments, political
attitudes towards migration, and increasingly differentiated mobility regimes.
We propose the concept of self-positioning to understand how young people situate themselves in the
world, which inequalities are inherent in this, and how spatial and social mobilities are interwoven. We
pay particular attention to the perspectives of young people, especially children, as their ideas about
mobility and positioning in the world have been little researched to date.
We welcome proposals for contributions on the following questions and topics:
1) Present and future (im)mobilities: Young people today grow up with a wide range of everyday
mobility experiences, including commuting, temporal and circular mobility, digital and imagined
mobility, and cross-border migration. Which mobility experiences do young people have and how
do they see themselves in this context, both now and in the future? To what extent is the world
open to them, or do they remain rooted in their place of birth? To what extent is mobility (e.g.,
studying abroad, international volunteering, labor migration, or lifestyle mobility) framed as an
expression of individuality, personal interest, and authentic preference – or as a marker of
distinction (signaling openness, flexibility, and a cosmopolitan orientation) and as an upward
mobility project? To what extent do young people also feel obliged to be (im)mobile, for example
due to economic precarity, political repression, armed conflict, or climate-related crises.
2) Construction of spaces, attachments, and emotional geographies: Based on their wide range of
mobility experiences and contacts with places abroad, young people generate knowledge about
different parts of the world. What significance do certain countries and places in the world hold for
them? What kind of emotional geography do children and young people develop? Which places do
they long to visit (e.g., Japan, inspired by manga culture, or Brazil as a soccer country), and which
places are associated with fear or rejection? How relevant are their own transnational experiences?
What stories do they hear from parents who work abroad or friends who have lived elsewhere?3) Discursive evaluation of (im)mobility and images of abroad: Discourses on local, national, and
global levels structure how different forms of mobility/migration are valued and interpreted, and
they produce different images of abroad. How is mobility discussed and represented (as a gain in
individual or societal capital, as a social problem, or as a stigmatization of and deficit in the mobile
person)? How are local and global geographical spaces represented? Which discourses and
speakers dominate, especially in discourses that are perceived by young people (e.g., books, films,
other media for young people, or social media)? How do young people engage with these
discourses, how do they incorporate or resist them in their self-narratives, and how is inequality
intrinsic to subjectivities? How do these discourses play a crucial role in positioning young people
and their families within hierarchical social orders?
4) Mobility in and to Europe: Across different geographical regions of the world, a wide range of
constellations can be observed under the conditions outlined above – shaped by diverse social and
generational orders, colonial and postcolonial pasts and presents, and varying political contexts.
Against this backdrop, the call invites (especially but not exclusively) contributions that explore
young people’s subjectivities, imaginaries, and discourses related to Europe and Europeanness,
including perspectives from both within and outside of European contexts. How do young people
think about their own position in Europe? How is Europe represented in discourses and narratives
– as a space of aspiration, exclusion, ambivalence, or contested belonging? How do young people
view the intersection of Europeanness with migration, generation, and social inequality?
5) Methodological and theoretical contributions: Critical reflection on diverse methodological
approaches and blind spots or on ethical challenges that arise when researching children and
youths or socio-spatial (self-)positioning, as well as theoretical reflections, are strongly encouraged.
The conference Young People’s (Self-)Positioning in the World: Subjectivities, Inequalities, and
Discourses will bring together diverse sociological theoretical perspectives to explore how young
people construct, negotiate, and contest their place in the world. By centering self-positioning as an
individual yet socially embedded process, and by exploring the discursive and unequal conditions
under which mobility and migration are experienced, the goal is to deepen our understanding of young
people’s subjectivities in an increasingly mobile and unequal world.
The conference is part of the cooperative TraNa research project (https://www.unidue.de/biwi/trana/), based at the Universities of Wrocław (Poland) and Duisburg-Essen (Germany).
Participants’ travel and accommodation costs will be covered according to the regulations of the
German Research Association (DFG). The event will take place in Essen, Germany, from September 8-
10, 2026 (starting in the evening of Sept. 8 with an informal get-together and closing with a session in
the evening of Sept. 10). The organizers aim for a diverse group of participants, with scholars based in
and working on various societies and geographical regions.
Please send an abstract of max. 400 words, plus information on your institutional affiliation and career
stage, to TraNa-Conference@uni-due.de by March 15, 2026. You will be notified about the decision on
your abstract by the beginning of April.
Self-Positioning in transnational spaces – Children’s narrations and narrations about children living in
transnational families
Positioning in the World: Subjectivities, Discourses, and Inequalities){kind=link}