SCJ: New Directions in Security Studies: Interdisciplinary Perspectives

Security, Conflict and Justice (SCJ) Pathway event open to students from All Pathways

The meaning and scope of ‘security’ are highly contested around a number of perennial questions: What should the referent object of security be? What threats should define the study and the policies of security? Which actors should be entrusted to respond to security threats? At what cost should security be achieved? How should security be studied and what forms the basis of reliable knowledge in this area? How important is theoretical reflection and innovation to security practice? In recent years, conventional discourses in Security Studies have been challenged by an array of alternative approaches – including securitization, practice theory, visual approaches, and biopolitics – which have brought new insights and concepts into the study of security. Early career researchers have played a key role in this evolving security studies terrain. At the same time, many contemporary security challenges, defined by evolving social, technological and normative contexts, defy narrow disciplinary boundaries and blur the distinction between traditional academic categories.

This workshop will:

• Bring together PhD researchers, early career academics and established academics to explore the evolving security studies landscape.
• Facilitate professional development for early career academics in this field, for example in terms of deepening understanding of how to make an intervention in key security studies debates, how to publish in leading journals, and how to engage with innovative methodologies.
• Support debate about new directions in security studies across disciplines in order to explore what might be meant by ‘interdisciplinary security studies’ and how this can be envisioned.
• Allow scholars who work at the interface between different disciplinary approaches, and those who have ventured into ‘alien’ disciplinary territory, to discuss the added value and challenges of thinking beyond disciplines.
• Facilitate discussion of the societal ‘value’ and impact of academic security studies, given the gap that is sometimes seen to exist between theoretical security studies and policy challenges.
• Allow an introspective reflection on diversity and inclusivity of security studies, from the perspectives of gender, race, and class.

Learning outcomes and development opportunities

This workshop will be designed around the professional development/training needs of PhD students in a number of ways:

• Networking and academic development: Students will benefit from engaging with debates and with other participants, many of whom will be established academics.
• Students will be encouraged to present a paper, providing an opportunity to present alongside established academics and receive feedback on their work.
• All presenters will gear their presentations to addressing certain themes that will be of interest to PhD students, such as questions about research design/methodology, the challenges of interdisciplinarity, and how to make an intervention into key debates.
• Where possible, other professional development themes will be addressed, such as publishing.

PLEASE NOTE: Students are responsible for arranging travel to and from these Pathway Specific Training sessions. The WRDTP cannot reimburse travel costs to these sessions.

This is a Security, Conflict and Justice (SCJ) Pathway organised event however it is open to students from all Pathways if the themes and topics would be useful to you in your research. Attendance is encouraged from students at all stages/ years of their PhD studies however paper contributions are encouraged from PhD students at the latter stages of their research.

Provisional Programme