Workshops (2026/27)
| Date | Time | Location | Speaker | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 11th | 5-7pm | Email migration@mailbox.sc.edu for address. | N/A |
Welcome Back Gathering |
| September 23rd | 4pm | TBD | TBD |
TBD |
| October 21st | 4pm | TBD | TBD |
TBD |
Upcoming Events (2026/27)
Spring Semester- Details coming soon.
Spring Semester- Details coming soon.
2025/26 Workshops
Speaker: Evren Özselçuk (Assistant Professor, English)
Date: October 15th
Time: 4:00-5:00 PM
Location: Hamilton 322
Speaker: Jill Thornton (PhD Candidate, Geography)
Date: November 12th
Time: 4:00-5:00 PM
Location: Hamilton 322
Speaker: Austin Crane (Walker Institute and Geography)
Date: February 3rd
Time: 4:00-5:00 PM
Location: Hamilton 322
Speaker: Dr. Austin Kocher
Date: February 18th
Time: 12:00 PM
Location: Hamilton 322
In advance of his afternoon keynote lecture, Dr. Austin Kocher will have a brownbag lunch conversation with the USC Migration Lab on the theme of engaging the politics of migration through public scholarship.
Speaker: Caroline Nagel (Geography) and Kara Brown (Education)
Date: March 24th
Time: 4:00-5:00 PM
Location: Hamilton 322
Past Events (2024-26)
Theme: Unraveling the Complexities of Migration: Power, Identity, and Belonging
Date: Friday, April 17 and Saturday, April 18
Location: Dubois Center, Charlotte, NC
Co-Sponsors: Southeastern Immigration Studies Association, Charlotte University Center for Migration and Diaspora Studies, College of Charleston, The Citadel
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Austin Kocher
Date: 18 February 2026, 4:00 p.m.
Location: Gambrell 429
One year into the second Trump administration, immigration policy has been fundamentally
transformed. What began as a rapid series of executive actions has now become an expansive
and well-funded enforcement paradigm, one that has tested constitutional limits, reshaped
federal institutions, and redefined what immigration enforcement looks like in America.
This talk offers a clear-eyed assessment of where things stand after twelve months:
how enforcement has evolved on the ground, how the administration's justifications
for aggressive tactics have failed to withstand legal and empirical scrutiny, and
what the long-term consequences are for immigrant families, communities, and the rule
of law itself. Kocher contextualizes the current moment within broader historical
patterns, identifies what truly is unprecedented, and looks ahead to what we can expect
in the year to come.
Beyond analysis, Kocher will share practical tools and strategies for students and
scholars trying to navigate this fast-moving policy landscape, including how to find,
interpret, and critically assess immigration policy and enforcement data.
Biography: Dr. Austin Kocher is a geographer and Assistant Research Professor in the Office of
Research and Creative Activity in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communication
at Syracuse University. He also has a faculty appointment in Syracuse University’s
Department of Geography, an affiliated expert at the Institute for Democracy, Journalism,
and Citizenship, and he is a research fellow at the Center for Latin American and
Latino Studies (CLALS) at American University. His work critically examines how immigration
enforcement agencies use legal mechanisms, data collection, and surveillance technologies
to exert control over noncitizens, often with profound consequences for due process
and human rights. He also investigates the role of public records, Freedom of Information
Act (FOIA) requests, and data-driven analysis in exposing systemic patterns of enforcement
and government accountability. Through interdisciplinary methods, including legal
case research, counter-mapping, and large-scale data analysis, his scholarship highlights
the intersection of immigration policy, sovereignty, and state power. Ultimately,
his research seeks to challenge dominant narratives about immigration enforcement
and provide empirical insights into the evolving landscape of U.S. immigration control.
Location: The Dubois Center at UNC Charlotte Center City
Time: Friday, January 31, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Co-sponsors: UNC Center for Migration and Diaspora Studies
Location: Richland County Public Library
Time: Tuesday October 22nd, 5:30–7:30 p.m.
Co-sponsors: USC Departments of Anthropology and Geography, the School of Earth, Ocean, and Environment, the Walker Institute of International and Area Studies, Richland County Public Library
Description:
Please join us to view this stunning collection of photographs taken during a month-long expedition along the 2000-mile United States–Mexico border. Enjoy light refreshments and stay for a screening and discussion of the award-winning documentary, Ay Mariposa: Butterflies and Border Walls. Photographer and filmmaker Krista Schlyer will join us virtually.