In a ceremony with over 500 guests in Lund Cathedral, the social and Islamic scientist Naika Foroutan, Director of the German Center for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM) and Professor at Humboldt University in Berlin, was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Theology at Lund University. The citation states that Foroutan, as an international authority in the research fields of migration and integration, has opened up new academic perspectives with numerous important works, which have also influenced the theological and religious studies disciplines. Based on solid empirical findings and convincing analyses, Foroutan's contribution sheds light on how migration is changing our society as a whole - also in the way it describes itself. In particular, her findings on the post-migrant society, a term she has introduced into academic discourse, are now being received internationally far beyond her own discipline.
“Her research,” says Alexander Maurits, Dean of the Faculty of Theology, ”enables us to ask questions in a new way about how we want to live together in a world that is increasingly characterized by diversity.”
The ceremony dates back to a tradition dating back to 1670 and is the highlight of the academic year. In addition to the diploma, a hat and a ring are also presented - in Latin. “Salve! Accipe pileum, insigne libertatis!”, it then says, meaning: ”Greetings! Take this ring, symbol of freedom!”. In times when the freedom of science is under pressure worldwide, this exclamation can be read more than ever as a call for free research without fear of repression. Naika Foroutan, who heads the Department of Integration Research and Social Policy at the Berlin Institute for Migration Research (BIM) at Humboldt University and has headed the DeZIM Institute since its foundation in 2017, was also explicitly honored for her socio-political work in the migration debates of the past decade and her simultaneous advocacy against Islamism and anti-Muslim racism.
You can find an excerpt of the live broadcast of the award ceremony here.
A press photo of Naika Foroutan is available for download here.
Information on the ceremony in Lund can be found here.
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