Zinātnieku nakts 2025
His lecture, titled “From types and transitions to turns and tropes: reflections on the academic and social construction of migration”, will offer deep reflections on the evolving conceptual frameworks of migration in both academic and societal contexts. Professor King will share insights drawn from decades of research conducted across multiple continents.
On the same day, during the ceremonial meeting of the University of Latvia Senate, Professor Russell King will be awarded the honorary degree Doctor honoris causa Universitatis Latviensis in recognition of his significant contribution to enhancing the international visibility and prestige of Latvia and the University of Latvia in the field of migration geography.
Professor King’s distinguished career, spanning more than five decades, exemplifies the values of academic excellence and global engagement that are central to the University of Latvia.
He has actively supported researchers and students at the University of Latvia through collaborative projects and doctoral supervision. His research in migration and geography has made a substantial contribution to the analysis of various migration processes, including the study of return migration. His scientific excellence is reflected in more than 300 academic publications. His work at leading research institutions worldwide and his role as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies have fostered interdisciplinary collaboration and advanced the study of migration.
Since 1993, Professor King has served as Professor of Geography at the University of Sussex and was Director of the Sussex Centre for Migration Research. Prior to that, he was Professor of Geography at Trinity College Dublin (1986–1993) and Lecturer in Geography at the University of Leicester (from 1970). He has held visiting positions at the University of Malta (1977 and 2014), Ben Gurion University of the Negev (1981), the University of Trieste (1990), and Cornell University (2005). In 2013, he was appointed Willy Brandt Guest Professor in Migration Studies at Malmö University, where he continues to serve as a part-time visiting professor. In 1986, he received the Edward Heath Medal from the Royal Geographical Society for his work on the geography of Europe and the Mediterranean, and he is an Honorary Fellow of the Società Geografica Italiana. From 2000 to 2013, he served as editor of the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies.
. This event will mark the opening of the European Researchers’ Night program at the Faculty of Science and Technology. The lecture will be delivered by Russell King, Emeritus Professor of Geography at the University of Sussex, who will be awarded the Honorary Doctorate of the UL later that day during the ceremonial meeting of the UL Senate.){kind=link}