ULB research| Personal data | Research themes | Ongoing teaching | Publications |
LICATA Laurent
Units
Center for Social and Cultural Psychology
Center for social and intercultural psychology.
Projetcs
Projet Recherche et développement ARES. Partenaires universitaires : Donatien Dibwe, César Nkuku Khonde et Jacques Kalumba (Université de Lubumbashi), Nathalie Tousignant (Université Saint-Louis)
Valérie Rosoux (UCLouvain) et Laurent Licata (ULB) The aim of this project is to analyse the representations and practices associated with the care, display and restitution of human remains originating from the Congo and held in public and private institutions in Belgium. The issue of heritage human remains raises a number of legal, political and ethical questions (Berger, 2008; de Clippele, 2023). Should they be considered scientific specimens, museum objects or the remains of ancestors whose dignity has been trampled underfoot? Critics of restitution see human remains as ‘scientific objects’ with educational, scientific and in some cases artistic value (many artefacts and musical instruments are made from human bones). On the other hand, other voices consider that the return of human remains and their eventual burial are essential in an attempt to redress the historical injustices committed during colonisation. The aim of this interdisciplinary project is precisely to analyse the scope and limits of these practices, whether they take place at inter-state level or within civil society. The aim is to analyse the negotiation processes that take place between official actors, representatives of associations, spokespersons for communities and/or families of origin, as well as the representations that underpin this combination of negotiations (Zolkos, 2020; Rosoux, 2022; Rosoux and Anstey, 2017).
Projet financé par une bourse ARES CCD. Doctorant: Eric Nkurunziza. Directeurs: Laurent Licata (ULB) et Léandre Simbananiye (Université du Burundi).
Because a growing number of people are seeking international protection, it is urgent to examine how their adjustment to the receiving countries can be facilitated. Migration trajectories of asylum seekers and refugees (i.e., displaced migrants) are often marked by broken relationships, loss of social support, and cumulated social exclusions. At the cross-roads of social, cultural and political psychology, this project employs an ego-centric social network approach and examines proximal social environments as spaces enabling resilience of displaced migrants, while concurrently sustaining host society members' engagement in solidarity-based actions in support of displaced migrants. By combining unique data collected within this project with existing data, three research teams in Belgium and Switzerland examine how intercultural ties between displaced migrants and host society members are created and sustained.
Horizon Europe project CONCILIARE (CONfidetly ChangIng coLonIAl heRitagE)
Coordinator: Joaquim Pires Valentim (University of Coimbra). PI at ULB: Laurent Licata Colonial cultural heritage (CCH) is at a crossroads grappling with transformative shifts in textbooks, public spaces, museums and cultural consumption, with manifold impacts on present-day intergroup relations of diverse socio-demographic groups. The need to understand how these groups are dealing with CCH changes could not be more timely, and that is the overarching goal of the EU-funded CONCILIARE project. CONCILIARE will adopt an interdisciplinary and multi-methodological approach across pivotal domains to reach a nuanced understanding of reactions to and representations of changes in CCH. Through small-scale pilot trials across European countries, CONCILIARE will also map evolving CCH whilst developing evidence-based methods to foster societal confidence amidst transformation.
