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ESRU – Presentation

The European Social Research Unit (ESRU) is dedicated to developing applied and academic social research in the areas of social cohesion and integration, social exclusion and social control at a comparative transnational level. The research adopts an essentially ethnographic approach, reconciling the in-depth conceptual debate with a pragmatic evaluative framework. It has an international reputation for research work and a sound network of institutional partners. Alongside ESRU Director, Dr. Olga Jubany, the unit´s staff members are experts on quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis, and each investigation is conducted by a team of specialists in the field, reinforced by the work of regular collaborators. The ESRU counts on the excellent management and dissemination mechanisms of the University of Barcelona, the only Spanish university ranked in the top 200 by the Academia Ranking of World Universities. It is part of the Department of Social Anthropology and the interdepartmental Research Group on Exclusion and Social Control (GRECS). Main lines of research are:

Social Exclusion and Social Cohesion
  • Discrimination through inequalities: gender, origin and education
  • Identity and diversity
  • Integration and social cohesion

Migration Studies

  • Migration and the labour market
  • Gender and migration
  • Admission and integration policies

Labour Market Structures and Trends

  • Social dialogue and industrial relations
  • Management of cultural diversity
  • Gender and migration in the labour market

Social Control

  • Public security and personal privacy
  • Borders and control

Community dynamics

  • Community networks and sustainable environment
  • Social housing
  • Urban structures and social inequalities