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Personal profile
Research Statement
Dr Ulrike M Vieten is a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Sociology of Gender, Migration and Racisms, who joined Queen's University Belfast as one of the QUB Fellows, in 2015.
Dr Vieten was awarded a Doctor in Philosophy (PhD) by the University of East London (UEL), England, in 2008, and a MA in Gender & Ethnic Studies by the University of Greenwich, also Britain, in 2004. In Germany she read Law (Bremen) and Social Sciences (Oldenburg, MA), and worked as a consulter on gender equality implementation and law in the 1990s.
Before coming to Belfast, Dr Vieten held various post-doc positions and Research Fellowships at the VU Amsterdam, the University of Sheffield and the University Luxembourg, and was living in Leeds (Yorkshire) until 2015.
Her new monograph 'Loss and Liquid Citizenship in Europe: The Postmigration Condition in an Age of Populism' is published with Routledge. Inspired by the late Zygmunt Bauman and his concept of 'liquid' the book interrogates the symbolic and legal boundaries between citizen and migrant status, foregrounding the all encompassing situation of living in postmigration societes.
Going beyond the nation state's sociological lens Dr Vieten incorporates cosmopolitan and interdisciplinay (feminist-intersectional) methodologies in her research. She is a comparativist, looking at the transformation of (European) societies and considering the increasing meaning of transnational identities.
Theoretically, Dr Vieten is inspired by feminist thinkers such as Nancy Fraser, Iris Marion Young, bell hooks, Kimberle Crenshaw, Nira Yuval-Davis, but also Sylvia Walby with respect to her work on the notion of 'European societalization'.
Since 2020 Dr Vieten is a member of the English activist-academic group 'Social Scientists Against Hostile Environment -Social Scientists Against the Hostile Environment (wordpress.com) )
- Dr Vieten's expertise on racialised and gendered group boundaries ('othering of difference') also in the context of global and European far right populism and racism is recognized internationally. She contributes regularly to media debates ( e.g. EURONEWS feature; BBC/Ulster Radio or political blogs). In the wake of the EU parliament election in June 2024, she was invited to several talks in Paris and Brussels speaking about the normalisation of the far right in Europe, e.g. Ireland.
- Her (international) expertise in the field of gendered migration and the situation of refugees is esteemed, particularly. Dr Vieten was appointed External Examiner to the MA Refugee Integration, Dublin City University (DCU), Ireland ,in 2022.
In September 2022, she published her second monograph (co-authored with Scott Poynting), Normalization of the Global Far-Right: Pandemic Disruption?
The book is a timely intervention in ongoing debates on everyday racisms, and the normalization of extremist views, globally (e.g. in Europe, but also Australia) also taking into account the post March 2020 pandemic situtation and implications for this debate.
- Between January 2020 and end of 2024, Dr Vieten was Editor-in- Chief of the peer reviewed European Journal of Cultural and Political Sociology, one of the flagship journals of the European Sociological Association (ESA).
- Between April and July 2023 as part of her Sabbatical, Dr Vieten was a Visiting Research Fellow in Australia, based at the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Alfred Deakin University, Melbourne (Australia).
Research Focus
Dr Vieten does have particular expertise in Gender, Ethnic and Sexualities Studies. Since 2016 her work focuses on the rise of the racist far right in different European station states, and internationally, while investigating the ways a normalisation of anti-immigrant rhetoric, anti-Muslim racism and neo-nationalist politics emerged.
Her research engages theoretically and empirically with the (de-)construction of racialised, classed and gendered group boundaries, looking at processes of normalization and the critique of it. Another way of capturing this is asking how othering operates in discourses and in different situated historical contexts and how the tension between difference and alterity plays out.
Dr Vieten has published widely on the shifting notions of difference and otherness, in the context of gendered cosmopolitanisms, far-right populisms and archives of racisms, in Europe.
Foremost, Dr Vieten is interested in processes of European societalisation, and the emergence of multi-layered transnational identities. She is a comparativist, who applies a range of qualitative methods (e.g. Critical Discourse Analysis; visual methods/ semiotics; narrative methods). Having worked academically in the Netherlands, Luxembourg and England before coming to Northern Ireland, countries of expertise include: Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Poland, Austria, Turkey and more recently, India.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/international-collaboration-exploring-visualizing-female-vieten-bma8e
Dr Vietens' research has been funded by the British Council/ Newton Fund; Northern Ireland Department for the Economy (DfE)/ Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) and the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM), Stormont.
The pilot study 'Loss and the Language of Dance' (2017-2018), for example, explored how the experience of loss can be culturally translated across different countries and collective memories, such as Northern Ireland and Turkey.
For details on the perfromance and Turkish dance company, who collaborated with Dr Vieten https://ciplakayaklar.com/en/show/hicbir-sey-yerinde-degil/
Achievements
Before 2002
Before migrating to London/ UK, in 2002, and embarking on an academic career, Dr Vieten worked professionally (Organisational Sociology) on gender equality implementation as far as Germany is concerned.
The legal commentary in the field of gender equality and German anti-discimination law was published in 2002:
'Frauengleichstellungsgesetze des Bundes und der Laender', (2002), co-authored with Prof Dr Dagmar Schiek, Prof Dr Heike Dieball et al., published with the BUND Verlag in Frankfurt/ Main.
Beyond 2002
Dr Vieten co-edited with Prof Nira Yuval-Davis (UEL), The Situated Politics of Belonging (also with Prof Kalpana Kannabiran), published in 2006 (with SAGE).
Achievements
In 2012, Dr Vieten's first MONOGRAPH was published with ASHGATE (by now with ROUTLEGE):
Gender and Cosmopolitanism in Europe: A Feminist Approach
Book Reviews are here:
In 2016, Dr Vieten published the co-edited book (with G. Valentine) 'Cartographies of Differences: Interdisciplinary Perspectives', this book is now available (August 2018) as OPEN ACCESS.
https://www.peterlang.com/view/product/46955?tab=aboutauthor&format=MOBI
Achievements
Dr Vieten's theoretical interest in the tension between processes of normalisation (and the critique of it) on the one hand and notions of democratic inclusion led first to a symposium she organised in Amsterdam in 2012; and second, in 2014 to an edited collection:
REVISITING IRIS MARION YOUNG ON NORMALISATION, INCLUSION and DEMOCRACY
In 2022, she published her second monograph (with Scott Poyinting), Normalization of the Global Far Right: Pandemic Disruption?
https://www.emerald.com/insight/publication/doi/10.1108/9781839099564
(Emerals Insight)
Particulars
- Dr Vieten was a Visiting Research Fellow in Melbourne (Australia), at the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, between mid of April and beginning of July 2023.
Her talk at the ADI in MAY 2023 had been recorded and is available via YOUTUBE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJECi4yv4WY&t=6s
- Internationally and professionally Dr Vieten is organised with the International Sociological Association (ISA), since 2003. Between 2010 and summer 2018 she was elected Board Member of the ISA Research Committee on Racism, Nationalism, Indigeneity and Ethnicity (RC05).
As part of these international activities she convened and contributed to different ISA Fora and World Congresses of Sociology, e.g. in Durban/ SA (2006), Goeteborg/ Sweden (2010) Buenos Aires/ Argentina (2012), Yokohama/ Japan (2014), Vienna/ Austria (2016), Toronto/ Canada (2018), and the latest, in Melbourne (Australia), in 2023. The latter took place end of June until beginning of July where Dr Vieten convened a RC05 panel on the Normalization of the Global Far Right (with Prof Scott Poynting), and gave a paper at another panel releated to her new book project, on 'Liquid Citizenship and the post-migration condition'.
- Since 2019, Dr Vieten is member of the Sociological Association Ireland (SAI), and between 2018 and 2025 she was member of the European Sociology Association (ESA).
- Between January 2020 and January 2025, she was Editor-in-Chief of the refereed European Journal of Cultural and Political Sociology.
Teaching
TEACHING at QUB -
Convenor of:
- MA Conflict and Social Justice (Mitchell Institute)- Dissertation Module - CSJ7002 (2017-2019)
- Dr Vieten also contributed with a specially designed slot on 'gender, conflict and justice' to the Theoretical Core Module Global Concepts and Practices of Conflict Transformation - CSJ7001 (2017-2019)
In the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work (SSESW) she convened in 2019/2020 the
- MRs Module - Approaches to Social Research, SOC9012
and is convening the new elective module (SOC9082), 'Global Migration, Diaspora and Citizenship' on the MRs Sociology of Global Inequality
Dr Vieten convenes since 2019/2020 on the undergraduate Sociology program
- Sociology Elective - Understanding Gender & Migration (SOC2051) - since 2019/ 2020
This module responds to the need to expand an explicit focus on gender in mainstream sociological teaching and thinking in SSESW, and connecting gender to ongoing international debates on migration.
In the beginning, global, regional as well as intra-Europan migration issues (e.g. EU citizenship, cross border mobility) were prominent, but due to the post-Brexit situation, affecting NI and Ireland in particular ways, the module delivers a revised approach focusing on global migration, also taking into account the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic crisis, post-2022.
- Sociology - Mandatory - Qualitative Research Skills, SOC2003 (2020/2021; 2021/22)
- Dissertation Modules (CRM3002/ SOC3007) from spring term 2024 and continuing.
Dr Vieten was involved in the curriculum development and delivery of the theory module ('Theories, Frameworks and Concepts') as part of the innovative Integrated PhD (IPhD), launched in 2020.
Before coming to NI, and teaching at QUB, Dr Vieten was involved in teaching, designing and convening modules at British universities (UEL/ London Metropolitan University), in the Netherlands (VU Amsterdam) as well as in Germany (University of Applied Studies, Hanover) on
Undergraduate Teaching/ modules (between 2004 and 2008)
- Communication and Media
- Youth Cultures
- Media Meanings
- Global Justice and Human Rights
- Globalisation and Society
- Gender & Race
- Diversity, Difference and Identity in Organisations, Winter term 2011/2012 (VU Amsterdam)
Postgraduate module/ workshop
on 'Roma Studies' (2001-2002), University of Applied Studies Hanover ('Social Work')
Successfully supervised PhDs:
- Netherlands
Dr Melanie Eijberts (2013). Migrant Women Shout It Out Loud. The Integration/ Participation Strategies and Sense of Home of First- and Second-Generation Women of Moroccan and Turkish Descent. VU University Amsterdam (cuma sum laude).
- UK/ Northern Ireland
Emily Mitchell-Bajic (2022), The Silencing of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence Survivors in the Post-Yugoslav Space, Belfast, DfE funded scholarship
Salah Uddin (2024). Forced Migration of Rohyngia Community from Myanmar: Examining the consequences, challenges and policy options of international humanitarian aid mobilizations within host and migrant communities in Bangladesh.
Ongoing PhD supervision:
Judith Atwell, An Ethnographic challenge to Resettlement as a “durable solution”: Syrian refugees and Northern Ireland. - DfE funded scholarship.
Achievements
In September 2022, Dr Vieten was appointed as the External Examiner to the MA program 'Refugee Integration', Dublin City University, Ireland.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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R1685SES: AHRC IAA : Counter-Archives of Marginality: Storying, Sounding and Visualising Agency in India
Belluigi, D. (PI) & Vieten, U. M. (CoI)
06/05/2024 → …
Project: Research
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R3754MAE: Asylum Seeker's and Refugee's Experiences of Living in Northern Ireland
Murphy, F. (PI) & Vieten, U. M. (CoI)
12/04/2016 → …
Project: Research
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R3735SSP: Counting our Losses: The politics of loss and social transformation in the context of migration and displacement in Turkey
Vieten, U. M. (PI), Chatzipanagiotidou, E. (CoI), Donnan, H. (CoI) & Murphy, F. (CoI)
09/12/2015 → …
Project: Research
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R3558SES: Counter-stories of author-ity in transition: Women in the Indian Academy (research capacity building workstream)
Belluigi, D. (PI) & Vieten, U. M. (CoI)
19/01/2024 → 31/03/2024
Project: Research
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R3995SSP: Loss and the Language of Dance
Vieten, U. M. (PI) & Murphy, F. (CoI)
16/11/2017 → 31/03/2018
Project: Research
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Counter-narratives of Authority in Transition: Marginality in the Indian Academy
Belluigi, D. Z. (Other), Dhawan, N. (Other), Achuthan, A. (Other) & Vieten, U. M. (Other), 02 Dec 2025Research output: Non-textual form › Exhibition
Open Access -
Decolonising refugee integration paradigms: visions for a new politics of inclusion and participation in Europe and beyond (Introduction to Special Issue)
Murphy, F. & Vieten, U. M., 12 Feb 2025, (Early online date) In: Ethnic and Racial Studies. 16 p., 1.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
7 Citations (Scopus) -
Film on the artworks 'Dreams and Chaos' by Archee Roy
Belluigi, D. Z. (Director), Dhawan, N. (Other), Achuthan, A. (Other) & Vieten, U. M. (Other), 25 Mar 2025Research output: Non-textual form › Digital or Visual Products
Open Access -
Film on the 'Hated Fairytale Series' by Sudatta Basu Roy Chowdhury
Belluigi, D. Z. (Director), Dhawan, N. (Other), Achuthan, A. (Other) & Vieten, U. M. (Other), 25 Mar 2025Research output: Non-textual form › Digital or Visual Products
Open Access -
Loss and liquid Citizenship in Europe: the Postmigration Condition in an Age of Populism
Vieten, U. M., 06 Jun 2025, Abington: Routledge. 176 p.Research output: Book/Report › Book
Prizes
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Editor in Chief of the Refereed Journal 'European Journal of Cultural and Political Sociology'
Vieten, U. M. (Recipient), 14 Jul 2019
Prize: National/international honour
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Elected Board Member of the International Sociological Association (ISA) RCO5
Vieten, U. M. (Recipient), 10 Jul 2010
Prize: Appointment
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Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
Vieten, U. M. (Recipient), 24 Jun 2019
Prize: Appointment
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Nominated as 'Equality & Diversity Champion' - 2018
Vieten, U. M. (Recipient), 2018
Prize: Other distinction
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Activities
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Liquid Citizenship and Liquid Migration: blurred boundaries of movement and belonging
Vieten, U. M. (Advisor)
16 Jun 2025Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
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Displacement and the Language of Contemporary (Modern) Dance
Vieten, U. M. (Advisor)
13 Mar 2025Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
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Jadavpur University, Kolkata (India)
Vieten, U. M. (Advisor)
10 Mar 2025 → 16 Mar 2025Activity: Visiting an external institution types › Research and Teaching at External Organisation
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‘Complicity, Colonial Continuity and Liberal Gender Discourse in Europe’
Vieten, U. M. (Advisor)
10 Mar 2025Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
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External PhD examiner
Vieten, U. M. (Examiner)
19 Jun 2024Activity: Examination types › PGT external examination
Press/Media
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'Locals Live here': Racist attacks inflame Northern Ireland's Divisions
13/06/2025
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment
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Immigration in Northern Ireland: How facts and figures show online rhetoric is wrong
10/08/2024
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment
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Expert interview on the rise of the far right; pre-EU parliament election
07/06/2024
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment
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Podcast talk on the ' A Northern Ireland bill of rights'
10/12/2020
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment
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