A Regional Hub
The world we live in is an increasingly mobile one, and the Midwest is a key region for migration. Our Institute supports research at multiple scales, from the local to the global, with attention to the many pathways that connect them. Migration in Missouri is a key focus–whether today’s influx of migrants from places such as Afghanistan, Myanmar and Ukraine, or past histories: the creation of cashew chicken, the invention of German tradition in Hermann, Korean immigration in the Midwest. We work to hear and learn from members of migrant communities, who are specially equipped to illuminate their unique capacities and strengths, needs and dilemmas and thus to shape our research agendas and frameworks.
Programs & Initiatives
Through our Fellow/Affiliates program, Undergraduate Community-Engaged Learning and Scholar Brownbags The Interdisciplinary Migration Studies Institute (IMSI) connects scholars, students, and community members who seek to understand and engage productively with migration and displacement.
Research
Interdisciplinary scholarly research lies at the heart of our mission. Our institute fosters research on migration and displacement at the nexus of the humanities, social sciences, education, and public health. Our faculty come from across the University of Missouri and study migration through diverse disciplinary lenses, from literature, culture, film, gender and geography to sociology, anthropology, education, health, politics and economics.
IMSI Partners
Creating connections is at the heart of our mission. As well as building on-campus community, we maintain local and regional partnerships, host stakeholder dialogues and manage student internships. We work to support local advocacy efforts with our resources, time, and expertise; advertise the events, businesses, organizations, etc. of community members; sit on local nonprofits; connect local organizations with volunteers and interns; and share research with community leaders in migration spaces.
The study of migration
Who We Are
The Interdisciplinary Migration Studies Institute (IMSI) exists to connect scholars, students and community members who seek to understand and engage productively with migration and displacement. We welcome all scholars of migration and are especially dedicated to exploring what the humanities bring to the study of migration. Centering the human experiences and stories of migration enables us to highlight not only problems and policies but also the experience of migration itself.
