Mid-Term Conference of the Research Network Ethnic Relations, Racism and Antisemitism of the European Sociological Association

Hate in Transition and the Aftermath of 7 October: Antisemitism and Racism in Times of Political Crisis

University of Passau, August 31 – September 2, 2025

Organizers: Chair of Sociology, University of Passau & International Insitute for Education and Research on Antisemitism – Elke Rajal, Karin Stögner, Kim Robin Stoller (co-convenors)

The event will be held at the University of Passau, Germany, from the afternoon of August 31 to the evening of September 2, 2025.

This conference seeks to explore the shifting dynamics of hate, antisemitism, racism, discrimination, and political extremism in the face of contemporary global crises. Focusing on the intersections of antisemitism, racism, and related phenomena, we aim to explore how these issues manifest and evolve amidst political turmoil, social upheaval, and the reverberations of pivotal events, such as the antisemitic, genocidal attacks on 7 October, 2023.

Lectures will address the following central themes:

• Antisemitism: Historical and contemporary forms, including left-wing, right-wing, and Islamic antisemitism.
• Islamism: The role of Islamist ideologies in shaping contemporary antisemitism in Muslim-majority countries and in Europe.
• The Far-Right Resurgence: Examining racism, anti-Muslim resentment, antisemitism, and other ideologies of hate in the context of the far right.
• Racism: historical and contemporary forms, including antigypsyism/anti-Roma discrimination in various European countries.
• Intersectionality of Hate: How different forms of racism and antisemitism intersect with other ideologies.
• Conspiracy Theories and Political Crises: Exploring the role of conspiracy ideologies in fueling hate in the times of crises.

Papers will offer:

• Comparative and cross-national perspectives.
• Interdisciplinary approaches, combining insights from history, sociology, political science, and cultural studies.
• Theoretical and methodological innovations in understanding these phenomena.
• Perspective on the gendered dimensions of all the mentioned issues.

We will hold sessions that focus on theoretical, methodological, and empirical aspects of research on antisemitism and racism, also in a comparative framework. The network’s perspective is to bridge an exclusive divide between the understanding of antisemitism and of racism, exploring the correspondences and affinities, but also the differences and contrasts. The network’s over-arching question is to understand the material conditions and the social, political, and historical contexts shaping variations of racism (including forms like anti-Roma discrimination, “antigypsyism”, and anti-Muslim resentment) and antisemitism (including antisemitism related to the hostility to Israel, Islamic antisemitism, antisemitism of the left as well as of the right), across time and across different European and global contexts.

The Call for Papers is already closed.

Contact Information:

• For organizational matters, please contact Yvonne Jerschabek at yvonne.jerschabek@uni-passau.de.
• For content-related questions, please reach out to Kim Robin Stoller (kim.stoller@iibsa.org) or Elke Rajal (elke.rajal@uni-passau.de).