Sociology - VUB

28/09/2026

📢 Deadline for the IMISCOE Annual Conference at VUB extended to 12 October 2026

The conference titled "United for Human Rights and Global Equity" will take place in Brussels, on 6-9 July 2027, and will be hosted by the Brussels Institute for Social and Population Studies (BRISPO) and the Brussels Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Migration and Minorities (BIRMM) at Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

Researchers working on migration, human rights, and global equity now have time until 12 October 2026 to submit individual papers and panel or workshop proposals.

Full call for papers:
www.imiscoe.org/events/imiscoe-events/2688-24th-imiscoe-annual-conference

24/09/2026

🔴 Join us 18–20 Nov at UCLouvain for the Joint IneqKill & Quetelet Conference: *How Inequality Kills*

Explore health inequalities across time & space with Johan Mackenbach (keynote), Debarati Guha-Sapir & Sean Clouston (roundtable) alongside presentations from scholars across demography, history, sociology, economics, and epidemiology.

Registration is still open! 📍Louvain-la-Neuve 🇧🇪 https://uclouvain.be/fr/instituts-recherche/iacchos/chaire-quetelet-2026
[email protected]

Inscrivez-vous ici !Register here!

16/09/2026

𝗡𝗲𝘄𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘆: 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗥𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗹𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱!
We have just announced the results of the second-round NewVoices survey raffle. The survey was conducted among newcomers in Belgium.
The winning codes are now available on our website: https://brispo.research.vub.be/en/newvoices-survey-second-round-raffle-results-announced-cloned
If you took part in the study, please check whether your code appears on the list of winners and follow the instructions on the BRISPO website for information on how to claim your €200 voucher.
𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗴𝗶𝘂𝗺 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝟭𝟬 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀, 𝘄𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆 (https://vub.fra1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9mebFhk6MHSmf4i).

The winning numerical codes are listed below. If your code appears on the list, congratulations - you have won a €200 voucher.

15/09/2026

💡🔬 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗣𝗢 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁!
It's time for another project featured in our BRISPO Spotlight series! Each month, we highlight one of the ongoing research projects carried out within BRISPO. This month, we present a PhD project "From blue collar to no collar? Understanding joblessness as a class position across Europe" asking a question class analysis has long overlooked: what does it mean to be jobless, not just unemployed, but structurally excluded from the labour market?

𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿:
Richard Carrère
𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀:
Prof. Pieter-Paul Verhaeghe, Prof. Eva Van Belle
📅 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲:
2024-2028 | Research Foundation Flanders - FWO PhD project

🌍 Across Europe, a substantial share of working-age adults are without paid employment, yet this fact remains under-theorised within social class research. Individuals who are unemployed, inactive, sick or disabled, or engaged in care work are typically recoded to their last occupation, assigned their household reference person's class position, or excluded from analyses altogether. This project starts from the premise that joblessness is not only shaped by social class but also reshapes class positions in turn, and sets out to trace how, and through which mechanisms, this happens.

The first strand assesses the causal effect of unemployment on mental health and subjective well-being, drawing on longitudinal data from the UK and Germany. Crucially, it examines how social class generates heterogeneity in these effects, disentangling the mechanisms that unfold over the life course and structure unequal penalties. The second strand zooms out to the macro level, asking how the penalties associated with joblessness vary across European societies depending on welfare arrangements and deservingness discourses (that is, how symbolic structures shape differing wellbeing and material penalties for unemployed and jobless individuals). Finally, drawing on Belgian administrative data, the project builds a fuller picture of how periods of labour market activity and inactivity are patterned across gender and occupational position.

Together, these strands aim to build a framework linking social class to non-work, shedding new light on patterns of stratification and inequality in Europe.

𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼: https://brispo.research.vub.be/en/from-blue-collar-to-no-collar-understanding-joblessness-as-a-class-position-across-europe
📢 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗣𝗢 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗲'𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸.

People without paid employment are a significant share of working-age adults in Europe. Yet, thejobless have been remarkably absent from class analysis. This is

19/08/2026

𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗖𝗮𝗺𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘂𝘀 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘆: 𝗶𝗣𝗮𝗱 𝗟𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀
As part of the From Camp to Campus project, we have held the first round of the prize draw among respondents to our survey. Three iPads have been awarded, and a second prize draw will be held at a later stage.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲:
292879
670506
831104

If your code is one of the winning codes, please visit our website for detailed instructions on how to claim your prize: https://brispo.research.vub.be/en/from-camp-to-campus-survey-ipad-lottery-winners

18/08/2026

David De Coninck, Lise-Lore Steeman, Pieter-Paul Verhaeghe (BRISPO), Jan Van Bavel & Leen d'Haenens found in their new study, published in Ethnic and Racial Studies, that discrimination not only reflects failed tolerance but also moral reasoning that treats fairness as something migrants must earn. The findings bridge deservingness research with work on culturalist and color-blind racism, suggesting that reducing discrimination requires contesting the moral logics that legitimize it.
Link to the study:

Public acceptance of discrimination is typically treated as a reflection of prejudice. We argue it is better understood as a moral judgment about deservingness – a grammar through which exclusion i...

16/07/2026

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐀𝐈 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧?

A new article by Tuba Bircan and Anna Triandafyllidou has been published in The Conversation, discussing how artificial intelligence increasingly uses digital data sources - from mobile phone records and satellite imagery to social media activity and administrative data - to analyse migration. These technologies create new possibilities for understanding migration patterns, but they also shape what becomes visible and what remains missing. AI does not observe migration directly; it learns from the data it receives, including the assumptions and limitations embedded in those datasets.

Key messages:

- AI does not observe migration directly; it learns from existing data sources and their underlying assumptions.

- Digital trace data can complement traditional migration statistics but cannot replace information on lived experiences and motivations.

- Responsible AI governance requires combining multiple data sources rather than relying on any single dataset.

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧:
https://theconversation.com/how-ai-and-digital-data-shape-our-understanding-of-migration-284932

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐫-𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15562948.2026.2689658

As Canada advances its national AI strategy, we must ask what digital migration data reveal, and what they leave unseen.

15/07/2026

📢 New Publication Alert! What is it like to be an adolescent girl in an indigenous rural community in Bolivia?
A new open-access study co-authored by our BRISPO researchers explores the complex realities of rural Quechua adolescent girls in Cochabamba. Through Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR), the article introduces the analytical distinction between "Working to Do" (unpaid reproductive and agricultural care) and "Working to Be" (the struggle for symbolic and economic recognition through seasonal migration). By centering girls as active laboring subjects, the paper challenges Western developmental biases in youth and migration studies.

📖 Read the full open-access paper here: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/16/7/210

For rural adolescent girls in the Bolivian Andes, adolescence is not a “protected” transitional life stage but a gendered laboring condition. This article explores the lived experiences of adolescent girls in a rural Quechua community in Cochabamba, drawing on the initial phase of a longitudinal...

14/07/2026

💡 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗣𝗢 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁!
It’s time for another project featured in our BRISPO Spotlight series! Each month, we highlight one of the ongoing research projects carried out within BRISPO. This month, we present DynaMIGs, an interdisciplinary project that connects advanced demographic modelling with epidemiological forecasting.
📌 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁: DynaMIGs: How do international migration and internal mobility of migrants shape local populations? Developing a spatial microsimulation model of population dynamics with applications in infectious disease modelling
👥 𝗖𝗼𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿: Karel Neels (University of Antwerp)
𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀: Sylvie Gadeyne (BRISPO, VUB), Niel Hens (Hasselt University), Lander Willem (University of Antwerp).
📅 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲: 2025–2029 (funded by iBOF)
🌍 The DynaMIGs project investigates how migration shapes the future of the Belgian population. It has three closely connected objectives:

1️⃣ 𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘴
The project examines how key life events - such as moving, leaving the parental home, forming or ending partnerships, having children, and mortality - differ between migrants, their descendants, and the native-born population. It also studies where people settle and how they move within a country, providing new insights into the diversity of migrant experiences and residential patterns.

2️⃣ 𝘋𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘴
DynaMIGs uses these findings to build computer models that simulate how populations evolve over time. By incorporating differences between individuals, households, and places, these models will improve our understanding of how migration and increasing diversity influence the age structure, household composition, and geographic distribution of future populations.

3️⃣ 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨
Because factors such as household size, age, and residential location influence how diseases spread, DynaMIGs develops realistic models that account for the diversity of modern populations. These models will help explain how epidemics affect different communities and how local population characteristics shape disease transmission.

✨ Together, these three objectives form the foundation of the DynaMIGs project. By combining expertise from demography, migration research, and epidemiology, the project generates new knowledge on how migration, population change, and public health are interconnected. Its innovative modelling approach will support better evidence-based policies in areas such as urban planning, healthcare, and population forecasting.

07/07/2026

🏆 Congratulations to our former PhD researcher, Dr. Billie Martiniello, on receiving the IMISCOE 2026 Maria Baganha Best Thesis Award.
📖 The award recognises her dissertation, Rather Christophe than Mustapha: Understanding and Responding to Ethnic Discrimination in the Rental Housing Market, which examines the contexts, mechanisms, and responses to ethno-racial discrimination in the rental housing market. More information is available here: https://brispo.research.vub.be/en/imiscoe-2026-maria-baganha-best-thesis-award-for-billie-martiniello

🎓 Billie defended her PhD at VUB in 2025 under the supervision of Prof. Pieter-Paul Verhaeghe. The jury highlighted the methodological breadth of her work, combining field experiments, surveys, in-depth interviews, and document analysis to examine discrimination from multiple perspectives.
👏 Congratulations, Billie, on this well-deserved recognition!

Former BRISPO PhD student Billie Martiniello won the Best Thesis Award with her dissertation on rental discrimination at the IMISCOE conference.