On February 6, 2026, Indiana University will host the Symposium on Displacement and Mobility, a free and public symposium dedicated to advancing research and practice on displaced populations writ large. The symposium is located on the beautiful and quiet campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.
The purpose of this symposium is to connect a wide array of scholars and practitioners around topics of displacement and mobility, as well as foster new and innovative collaboration amongst institutions of refugee research. This event seeks to bring together scholars, practitioners, and students from across disciplines to explore the experiences, politics, and futures of displacement in its many forms: forced migration, refugee resettlement, internal displacement, statelessness, climate migration, and beyond.
The symposium will create a space for interdisciplinary dialogue and exchange, highlighting research and practice that examines displacement through lenses of law, geography, anthropology, sociology, public health, ethnomusicology, education, humanitarian practice, and more. By bringing together a range of reflective thinkers and their projects, alongside practitioners, our hope is to develop a research agenda and scholarly community that can engage meaningfully with the long-term challenges of forced displacement.
We seek papers on any aspect of displacement and mobility from any disciplinary perspective, which can serve to stimulate engaging dialogue. Some of the prevailing themes that papers might consider include:
- Refugees and Asylum
- Internal Displacement
- Statelessness
- Climate and Environmental Displacement
- Humanitarian Aid and Policy
- Arts Advocacy
- Health, Education, and Well-being
- Data, Technology, and Displacement
- Laws, Rights, and Governance
- Policy
Authors may submit academic papers, panels, creative performances, and roundtables. We welcome practitioners to submit panels, roundtables, and/or set up informational tables throughout the event. Proposals should include the title of the presentation and an abstract of up to 250 words, and a brief bio. Please submit one application per proposal. For example, if you wish to submit a paper and also a panel discussion, this will require two separate submissions.
Submissions are due November 30, 2025, and participants will be notified by mid-December 2025.
For any questions, please contact refugees@iu.edu.