Special issue: Cultural Production and Negotiation of Borders
(selected papers from the ABS European Conference in Kirkenes in 2008)
eds. Johan Schimanski and Stephen Wolfe

Johan Schimanski and Stephen Wolfe

Cultural Production and Negotiation of Borders: Introduction to the Dossier 39-49

Timothy Saunders

Roman Borders and Contemporary Cultural Criticism 51-58

Tatjana Kudrjavtseva

Cultural Boundaries and Intercommunication in Two Films from the North-West of Russia 59-65

Holger Pötzsch

Challenging the Border as Barrier: Liminality in Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line 67-80

Kristina Aurylaitė

Living Racial B/order in First Nations Canadian Novels: Richard Wagamese’s Keeper’n Me and Lee Maracle’s Ravensong 81-98

Maria de Fátima Amante

Local Discursive Strategies for the Cultural Construction of the Border: The Case of the Portuguese-Spanish Border 99-114

Other selected papers have appeared in special issues of Nordlit (24, 2009) and the Journal of Northern Studies (2009/1).

borders panel: Homogenization processes in the continual work of nation-building and reaffirmation of national identity are predicated on the establishment of geographical boundaries, accompanied by efforts to bring these boundaries together with political, cultural, linguistic and economic borders. External and internal colonizations are also vitally connected to the expanding movement and consolidation of borders. Such borders are however deeply ambivalent: They symbolically signify a relativization of the unity of the nation state, as they admit to the possibility of the other; they are dissolved and disseminated into uncanny, hybrid border zones; and they reemerge in metropolitan centres, within the heart of national homogeneity. This panel will examine the intersections of cultural, political, gender and other identities in the real and symbolic places constituted by national and other topographical borders as they are experienced, remembered, imagined and narrated in Nordic and related literatures. It will give special emphasis to the interplay between bottom-up, performative formations of identity and the top-down prespectives of national pedagogies. (contact on.tiu|iksnamihcs.nahoj#on.tiu|iksnamihcs.nahoj)

The organizers welcome paper proposals (title and abstract of ca 200 words + ca five keywords) which explore transformations of the present-day literary landscapes of the Nordic countries as they relate to ethnic and linguistic diversity, changing notions of gender and sexuality, migration and diaspora, as well as to histories of colonialism and homogenizing modernity. We particularly welcome contributions which investigate theoretical perspectives and methodologies which may be deployed in the analysis of emerging Nordic literatures which challenge established notions of identity, nationality and/or gender. Intersections of ethnicity/race, linguistic pluralism, senses of place/belonging, border experiences, world views/religions, regionalism, Europeanization and globalization are relevant themes for exploration in workshops. We also welcome analyses of various aspects of diversity in Nordic literatures. The deadline for paper proposals is 1 June, 2010. Please mail proposals with your name and institutional affiliation to: on.tiu|htieh.enna#on.tiu|htieh.enna

Keynote speakers:

Harald Gaski, University of Tromsø
Satu Gröndahl, Uppsala University
Vuokko Hirvonen, the Sámi University College in Guovdageaidnu
Kirsten Thisted, University of Copenhagen
Rita Paqvalén, University of Helsinki

announcement as pdf

this is the first announcement and Call for Papers for an International
"Navigating Cultural Spaces: Images
of Coast and Sea"
Symposium at the English Department at the Christian-Albrechts-University of
Kiel, Germany.
three-day conference Oct. 1-3, 2010

www.coastandsea-kiel.de

arranged by
Indigenous peoples and multicultural societies
http://www.sami.uit.no/montana/

http://www.plandevel.auth.gr/

In Ottawa, on January 15-16, 2010, Fulbright Canada and Carleton University will be hosting an international conference entitled “RE-IMAGINING THE CANADA-UNITED STATES BORDER: DESIGNING PUBLIC POLICY FOR AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE”, which will address the future public policy implications of political, economic, and security developments currently affecting the Canada-U.S. border.

http://www.fulbrightcanada.com/activities.php#/17

The University of North Dakota Institute for Borderland Studies Presents-
The Great Plains, the Prairies, and the US/Canadian Border

An international, interdisciplinary conference focused
on the role played by the US-Canadian border in the
American Great Plains and the Canadian Prairies.

http://www.undborderlands.org/page4/page4.html

The Decadence does not respect the decorum of social life, but provokes and challenges the way of life of the bourgeoisie. In the esthetics of Decadence, shocking transgressions play an important role.

Transgression means going beyond established bounds or limits, whether
these are set by law or by religious, ethical or any other authoritative
commandment or convention. We have, of course, special names for
transgressions in different areas: infringing on religious commandments
is called sin; violating laws is crime or, when it is collective and has
political ends, rebellion or revolution; bypassing moral rules is vice,
and so on. The seriousness of the act of transgression is dependent on
the importance of the system of rules violated, but we can speak of
transgression even when we are dealing with literary rules, and, as we
know, the starting-point for speaking of literary decadence in the 19th
century, had to do with transgressing the rules of poetics, the
deliberate emulation of a style of decadence compared to the writing of
Roman decadence.

The conference proposes to examine and interpret the provocative aspects as well as the varieties of transgression in Decadent literature. This means, at the same time, questioning the nature of these transgressions. It is legitimate to ask to what extent the Decadent literature remains a captive of the age and keeps recycling and confirming its prejudices in regard to women, homosexuality and racial issue, for example.

Kindly send your proposals for papers in English or in French before December 15, 2009, to the following addresses:

if.iknisleh.ippam|akityylp#if.iknisleh.ippam|akityylp
on.tiu|datsrab.irug#on.tiu|datsrab.irug

http://www.h-net.org/announce/show.cgi?ID=171957

This year's over-all theme is "Moving beyond National, Cultural, and Disciplinary Boundaries." I am currently working on a project on the development of a Mexican-American identity during the California agricultural strikes of the 1930s, as portrayed through the media (Daily Worker, La Opinion and LA Times). I suggest a panel might more broadly define "boundaries" as both the imagined constraints and elasticity of identity, as well as geographical boundaries that often influence such efforts. Your own work need not be on Mexican-Americans; indeed, a broader ethnic, "national, racial, gendered, cultural, religious, or social" focus is explicitly in the CFP.

The proposals are due by January 15. To allow time to coordinate efforts, I'd appreciate hearing from anyone interested soon, and we can then refine the panel based on your interests. Please respond off-line to me at ude.oplav|nosnaHrekcalB.ylleN#ude.oplav|nosnaHrekcalB.ylleN.

Within the framework of a research programme entitled "ANR Frontafrique, African boundaries: arbitrary or historically embedded? New approaches on the historicity of African boundaries", a round-table is organised on the theme of the role of boundaries in the processes of decolonisation and of African States gaining Independence. Acting as the locus of political sovereignties, boundaries are important to study. During this period, they constitute both an object to study and an appropriate scale of observation to scrutinize continuities and changes.

Ground breaking work on trade-unions and political fights has contributed to shed light on power transfers. Up to date, academic work has not focused as much on the importance of territorial stakes at the time when formal sovereignty was attained. If the theme was introduced in debates concerning balkanisation, federal organisations or panafricanism, the measure of the role and importance of territorial stakes and boundaries at the time is yet to be conceptualised. The issue of territory was central during the twenty year process of autonomisation, whether debates on the future of colonial territorial configurations during the 1950s or the idea of the intangibility of boundaries in the 1960s are taken into account.

Taking into account the diversity of situations - and sometimes different chronologies - our wish is to examine on the one hand the preparation, the debates and the projects focusing on territory and boundaries and on the other hand shifts introduced on the ground by autonomy and changes in status. Our aim is to discuss the material and symbolic evolutions related to territorial control and boundaries at Independence. We hope to combine different scales of analysis, paying attention to international and national institutions, administrations and political organisations as well as local situations in border areas. Through the observation of rhythms of change occurring at the periphery and of transformations both effective and at the level of discourses introduced locally with autonomy, we intend to determine whether boundaries were - or on the contrary were not - an important stake in the process of decolonisation on the road to Independence. Considering that it is truly the entire and multiple processes and not only the heritage of colonialism which has given shape to postcolonial dynamics (F. Cooper, 2005), we also would like to shed a new light on contemporary issues related to boundaries. Please send a half page abstract in French or in English to the organisers of the round-table, Séverine Awenengo Dalberto (CEMAf-Paris) http://fr.mc263.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=sawenengo@yahoo.fr and Camille Lefebvre (CEMAf Paris) http://fr.mc263.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=camillelefebvre@yahoo.fr by the 4th of January 2010. Proposals on Anglophone and Lusophone Africa are most welcome.
http://www.cemaf.cnrs.fr/
http://www.frontafrique.org/

Journées d'études : Frontières et indépendances en Afrique, Paris 6 - 7 mai 2010

Dans le cadre des recherches menées par l'ANR Frontafrique, Frontières africaines : absurdité ou enracinement ? Nouvelles approches de l'historicité des frontières africaines, ces journées d'études se proposent d'interroger la place qu'ont occupée les frontières au cours des processus de décolonisation et d'indépendance des Etats africains. En tant que lieux d'exercice de la souveraineté politique, les frontières apparaissent, en effet, à la fois comme un objet et comme une échelle d'observation privilégiés pour examiner au plus près les continuités et les transformations de cette période.

Si des travaux fondateurs sur l'influence des luttes syndicales et politiques ont éclairé les transferts de pouvoirs, la réflexion académique s'est peu portée jusqu'à présent sur la place des enjeux territoriaux au moment de l'accession à la souveraineté formelle. Cette question a parfois été soulevée lors des débats sur la balkanisation, les organisations fédérales ou encore le panafricanisme, mais l'évaluation du rôle et de la place des enjeux territoriaux et frontaliers à ce moment est encore largement un impensé. Pourtant la question du territoire s'est posée très fortement pendant les deux décennies du processus d'autonomisation que ce soit autour des débats sur l'avenir des configurations territoriales coloniales dans les années 50 ou de l'intangibilité des frontières dans les années 60.

En tenant compte de la diversité des situations - et de chronologies parfois décalées - il s'agirait d'interroger, d'une part, la préparation, les débats et les projets autour du territoire et des frontières et, d'autre part, les modifications introduites par l'autonomie et le changement de statut sur le terrain. Notre objectif est de questionner les évolutions matérielles et symboliques liées à l'indépendance dans les dispositifs frontaliers. Cette analyse se doit de combiner différentes échelles, celles des institutions internationales ou nationales, des administrations ou des organisations politiques et celle locale des espaces transfrontaliers. En observant les rythmes du changement depuis la périphérie et les transformations effectives et discursives introduites localement par l'autonomie, notre objectif est ainsi de déterminer si les frontières ont été - ou non - un enjeu dans les processus de décolonisation et d'indépendance. En considérant que c'est bien l'ensemble deces processus, et pas seulement l'héritage du colonialisme, qui a pu informer les dynamiques postcoloniales (F. Cooper, 2005), cette rencontre souhaite apporter un éclairage nouveau sur les questionnements plus contemporains liés aux frontières. Les propositions de communication peuvent être envoyées jusqu'au 4 janvier 2010 aux organisatrices : Séverine Awenengo Dalberto (CEMAf-Paris).

http://fr.mc263.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=sawenengo@yahoo.fr et Camille Lefebvre (CEMAf-Paris) http://fr.mc263.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=camillelefebvre@yahoo.fr, sous la forme d'un résumé d'une demi page, en anglais ou en français. Les propositions sur les espaces anglophones et lusophones sont particulièrement bienvenues.
http://www.cemaf.cnrs.fr/
http://www.frontafrique.org/

The Conference will take place on 9-10 April at the University of Bristol. For details of the Conference: http://www.bris.ac.uk/hispanic/slas2010

Southern Circuits: National Border Crossings and Intellectual Life in Latin America

This panel seeks to explore the relationship between national border crossings and writing within Latin America. From Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, Andrés Bello and Juana Manuela Gorriti in the nineteenth century to Rubén Darío, Haya de la Torre, Alfonso Reyes, Gabriela Mistral and Fernando Henrique Cardoso in the twentieth, Latin American men and women of letters have always moved within the South in various capacities: as diplomats, exiles, travelers, journalists, political activists, propagandists or cultural entrepreneurs, among others. In what ways did these movements and displacements within the Latin American periphery differ from journeys to the North Atlantic centres, and how did they shape these intellectuals' perception and understanding of themselves, their respective nations and the continent as a whole? Papers may focus on specific individuals or discuss various trajectories together. Contributions are welcome from all disciplines.

Brief abstracts (250-300 words) in English, Spanish or Portuguese should be sent to the organisers of the panel: Dr. Rosalie Sitman, Tel Aviv University (li.ca.uat.tsop|namtisr#li.ca.uat.tsop|namtisr <mailto:rsitman@post.tau.ac.il> ) or Dr. Ori Preuss, Tel Aviv University (ten.310|ssuerpo#ten.310|ssuerpo <mailto:opreuss@013.net> ). Please note that the deadline for abstract submissions is 15 January 2010.

Ce site présente les travaux de deux programmes de recherche :

• Le projet jeunes chercheurs : Mobilités, Frontières et Conflits dans les Espaces Israélo-Palestiniens(MOFIP) (ANR, Région PACA et CNRS)
• Le groupe de travail du Réseau d'excellence des centres de recherche en sciences humaines sur la Méditerranée - Ramses² : Le Conflit Israélo-Palestinien sous l’Angle des Mobilités Transfrontalières.

http://www.aborne.org/

ABORNE is an interdisciplinary network of researchers interested in all aspects of international borders and trans-boundary phenomena in Africa. The emphasis is largely on borderlands as physical spaces and social spheres, but the network is also concerned with regional flows of people and goods as well as economic processes that may be located at some distance from the geographical border.

http://www.frontafrique.org/

Research project on African borders - L’ANR Frontafrique est le représentant institutionnel français du réseau Aborne (African Borderlands Research Network, http://www.aborne.org)

The new Center for Mobilities Research and Policy (mCenter) at Drexel University combines interdisciplinary approaches to the study of travel, transport, migration, borders, and mobile communication into one over-arching framework. The term “mobilities” applies to both the large-scale movements of people, objects, capital, and information across the world, as well as the more local processes of daily transportation, movement through public space, and mobile communications.

Borders divide and connect people, places, issues. They can be personal or cultural, political or social. We invite you to use your visual talent to explore your vision of “border” through the lens of digital photography. Borderzine editors will select first, second and third place winners; winning photos will be published on borderzine.com and receive prizes. The contest opens November 2 and concludes December 2, 2009. Pick up your camera and show us “What’s Your Border?” For contest rules and submit photos online click here.

http://www.borderzine.com/2009/11/whats-your-border-first-borderzine-photo-contest/

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Borderlines and Borderlands: Political Oddities at the Edge of the Nation-State

By Alexander Diener and Joshua Hagen

Introduction: Borders, Identity, and Geopolitics
Alexander C. Diener and Joshua Hagen

The Border Enclaves of India and Bangladesh: The Forgotten Lands
Reece Jones

The Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan Boundary: Stalin's Cartography, Post-Soviet Geography
Nick Megoran

The Wakhan Corridor: Endgame of the Great Game
William C. Rowe

The Caprivi Strip of Namibia: Shifting Sovereignty and the Negotiation of Boundaries
Robert Lloyd

The Renaissance of a Border That Never Died: The Green Line between Israel and the West Bank
David Newman

Locating Kurdistan: Contextualizing the Region's Ambiguous Boundaries
Karen Culcasi

Russia's Kaliningrad Exclave: Discontinuity as a Threat to Sovereignty
Alexander C. Diener and Joshua Hagen

Defining Liechtenstein: Sovereign Borders, Offshore Banking, and National Identity
Robert Ostergren

Misiones Province, Argentina: How Borders Shape Political Identity
Eric D. Carter

Point Roberts, Washington: Boundary Problems of an American Exclave
Julian V. Minghi

Conclusion: Borders in a Changing Global Context
Alexander C. Diener and Joshua Hagen

http://www.rowmanlittlefield.com/Catalog/Flyer2.shtml?SKU=0742556360

Moving beyond National, Cultural, and Disciplinary Boundaries

The Program Committee for the 2010 Pacific Coast Branch-American Historical Association (PCB-AHA) annual meeting invites proposals for panels and papers on all historical themes and time periods but with special consideration for those fitting the theme "Moving beyond National, Cultural, and Disciplinary Boundaries." Interdisciplinary panels and presentations in non traditional formats (films, posters, roundtables, workshops) are also welcomed, as are proposals from graduate students.

We encourage proposals that interrogate boundaries in any of their forms: national, racial, gendered, cultural, religious, and social. In addition, we welcome proposals employing interdisciplinary methods and perspectives. Panels that focus on boundary maintenance (rather than transcending boundaries) or analyze construction of boundaries also fit this theme. We encourage presentations comparing regions, nations, eras, and subfields of history, as well as panels on pedagogical issues. The deadline for submissions is Friday, 15 January 2010. Please email submissions to: Kyle Longley
Arizona State University, ude.usa|yelgnol.elyk#ude.usa|yelgnol.elyk <mailto:kyle.longley@asu.edu>
and Thomas Turley, Santa Clara University, ude.ucs|yelrutt#ude.ucs|yelrutt <mailto:tturley@scu.edu>

http://webs.hogent.be/talesoftransit/

Internationale Graduiertenkonferenz, Universität Wien, 24.-26. September 2009

Ein Bericht von Mirjam Bitter

http://kult-online.uni-giessen.de/wps/pgn/home/KULT_online/tagungsbericht4-2009

Welcome to join the Nordic DINO network – Diversity in Nordic Literature!

During the last decades, the Nordic countries as well as Nordic literature, have gone through essential changes. Due to the increasing globalization and side by side with the changing developments in the politics of language and minorities, what were once relatively fixed and definable concepts – such as ‘Finnish’ and ‘Nordic’ literature – have expanded and acquired new meanings. The multicultural and multilingual society, with its changed attitudes (that often transcend former boundaries) towards such categories as sexuality and sexual identities, brings with it new problems and challenges for authors as well as scholars.

These new challenges have led to a need to form new networks and the Nordic DINO network – Diversity in Nordic Literature – was created to satisfy that need. DINO is an informal forum discussion and the aim is primarily to give scholars possibilities to discuss and develop scholarly studies about Nordic literature and diversity. The initiators of DINO are Satu Gröndahl (Uppsala University), Rita Paqvalén (Helsinki Universtity), Anne Heith (Tromsø University ) and Heidi Grönstrand (University of Turku).

During the autumn of 2009, about 60 scholars have joined the network.

Network meeting
The first network meeting was held 2-3 October, 2009, at Tvärminne Zoological Station, Finland, on the theme Aesthetic Expressions of Diversity. The thematic sections dealt with Postcolonial Perspectives on Nordic literature, Whiteness and Heteronormativity in Nordic literature, Ethnicity and Intercultural Encounters in Literature, and Multilingual Literature & Multilingual Authors. The meeting gathered 25 scholars.

The 7th Biannual Conference of the Nordic Irish Studies Network (NISN) at the University of Tromsø, Norway, 2-3 December 2010

Patrick Kavanagh once claimed that Ireland could host an army of a thousand
poets at any time. Perhaps that is a small number compared to the island’s
rich heritage of traditional and popular music. Yet poetry, pop and folk are
not its only creative outlets. Irish theatre contributes to cultural
discussions at home and abroad, while in the visual arts it boasts a range
of powerful painters and an ever-increasing production of films.
Furthermore, new media, generic transgressions, translations and border
aesthetics enhance creativity. The island’s nature, its monastic tradition,
contested histories, language diversity, social shifts, diasporic dynamics
and tax legislation – all these likely and unlikely sources of artistic
endeavour keep the cornucopia flowing. Today, as throughout history, the
island holds a remarkable position in the creative arts, and questions
concerning aesthetics and its relations to metaphysical speculation, ethic
significance, historical conditioning, social becoming and identitarian
processes are both more vital and more compelling than ever. The 2010 NISN
conference focuses on the arts of the island and on the conditions and
critical discourses with which they interact. The organisers invite
proposals for both individual 20-minute papers and planned panels on a wide
variety of topics connected to the theme. The call for papers opens on 15
November, with a deadline for the submission of abstracts of 300 words on 15
June 2010. Confirmed keynote speakers include poets Ciaran Carson and Paul
Muldoon, painter Rita Anne Duffy and Professor Michael Parker. The
conference is hosted by the University of Tromsø in cooperation with the
Norwegian Research Council and the Irish Embassy.

Please send abstracts or inquiries to: on.tiu|ioM.nebuR#on.tiu|ioM.nebuR

Papers may address, but are by no means restricted to, the following topics:

• relations between the arts
• ekphrastic poetry and prose
• the future of the arts
• arts and language
• arts and politics
• arts and ethics
• arts and history
• arts and psychology
• arts and the environment
• critical discussions of the works of individual artists (e.g. writers, painters, playwrights, musicians, directors)

The peaceful revolution and the Fall of the Berlin Wall were also a result as well as catalysts for the profound changes that gripped Germany and Europe at the end of the 1980s. On berlintwitterwall.com you can now share your thoughts on the historic Fall of the Wall and post a wish for the future. Just use the hashtag #fotw on twitter and after a while your message will appear on the twitterwall.

By clicking "stop" and "play", older messages (tweets) will be shown. A click on the cameras up on the wall will show a selection of the domino-artwork that will fall in a symbolic act on November 9th 2009 at the "Fest der Freiheit" (festival of freedom) at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.

www.berlintwitterwall.com is an initiative of Kulturprojekte Berlin GmbH within the festivities of Berlin’s 20-year anniversary of the Fall of the Wall.

Contact
Kulturprojekte Berlin GmbH
Klosterstraße 68
10179 Berlin
berlintwitterwall (at) kulturprojekte-berlin.de

http://www.morgenpost.de/berlin/article1197825/The-fall-of-the-Berlin-Wall-in-3D.html

http://www.myspace.com/noborderorchestra

touring Northern Norway in Jan 2010 and central Europe in Feb 2010

University of Macau, Macao, China
11 – 12 March 2010

Organizer: Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Macau

Deadline to send paper proposals: 30 November 2009

call for papers

All correspondence and enquiries should be addressed to Dr. Bill Chou (e-mail address: om.camu|uohcpk#om.camu|uohcpk)

Keynote Speakers are Jorge Durand and Kathleen Staudt

Call for papers – abstracts due January 15, 2010
Website: http://clas.arizona.edu/brem

ISBN 978-0820334073

http://www.ugapress.uga.edu/index.php/books/understanding_life_in_borderlands/

contents

Introduction, I William Zartman, The Johns Hopkins University 7000 p 1

Part I: Structures in Evolution

1. Borderland Dynamics in the Era of the Praymid Builders in Egypt 8000 p 18
Mirsolav Barta, Charles University

2. Conflict and Control on the Ottoman-Greek Border 8000 p 36
George Gavrilis, University of Texas at Austin

3. Illicit Trade and the Emergence of Albania and Yemen 9500 p 54
Isa Blumi, New York University

4. African Borderlands: Below, Beyond or Against the State? 9000 p 85
Judith Vorrath, Center for Security Studies, University of Zurich

5. Change and Continuity in the US-Mexican Borderlands after NAFTA 11000 p 104
David Stea, Jamie Zech, and Melissa Grey, Southwest Texas State University

Part II: Identities in Transition

6. Colonialism or Conviviencia in Frankish Cyprus 11000 p 134
James Schryver, Cornell University

7. Constructing National Identity in Ottoman Macedonia 9000 p 162
Ipek Yosamoglu-Turner, Princeton University

8. Pioneers and Refugees: Jews and Arabs in the Jordan Valley 1100 p 185
Rachel Havrelock

9. Who’s Who across the US-Mexican Border: Identities in Transition 7400 p 287
Raquel Marquez and Harriett Romo, University of Texas ay San Antonio

10. Looking across the Horizon 3800 p 307
Shelley Feldman, Cornell University

Conclusion: Borderlands Policy: Keeping up with Change 2000 p 333
I William Zartman, The Johns Hopkins University

Innleder er Trine Fossland som presenterer Fossland og Aures paper:"Integrasjon av høyt utdannede innvandrere på det norske arbeidsmarkedet".
Kommentator Asle Høgmo.

Interesserte kan henvende seg til Trine for å få tilsendt paper.
(on.tiu|dnalssof.enirt#on.tiu|dnalssof.enirt)

Georges Midré
Professor
Institutt for sosiologi, statsvitenskap og samfunnsplanlegging

International Conference

Organized by the Bielefeld Graduate School in History and Sociology (BGHS)
Bielefeld University (Germany)
22 - 23 April 2010

The criticism of methodological nationalism has opened up new ways to conduct research on
global and transnational dynamics. Nowadays, the common methodological statement is that
societal spaces cannot be regarded as equal to territorial spaces. Prominent methodological
proposals are suggested by the global ethnography approach, the cosmopolitan theory, and the
transnational approach. While the first combines large-scale ethnography with detailed
examinations of everyday life, the second proposes to conduct research simultaneously on
different spatial scales, such as global, transnational, national, and local dimensions. And the
third, the transnational approach, refers to relational concepts of spatiality. Thus, this
conference will link debates on new methodological approaches with the discussion of
problematic issues within empirical research on global and transnational transformations.

Confirmed keynote speakers include David Fitzgerald, Zsusza Gille, Nina Glick Schiller,
Akhil Gupta, Matthias Middell, Ludger Pries, Aihwa Ong, and Anja Weiß.

The major topics of interest include qualitative methodologies and methods of social research
which refer to:
• Spatiality,
• Scale approach (global, national, transnational, and local scales),
• Reflexivity within the research process,
• International and transnational migration,
• Intercultural encounters,
• Multi-sited ethnography,
• Transnational networks, and
• Transnational historiography.

In particular, we look for papers that address some of the following themes and questions:

Methodological Approaches Focusing on Relations between Territorial and Social Spaces:
How does the distinction between territorial and social space influence the conceptualization
of our research units? In which way do spatiality concepts transform definitions of social
boundaries? In which manner does the distinction between territorial and social dimensions
influence interpretations of temporal societal transformations on macro, meso, and micro
levels?

Methods Concerning Spatial Dimension within Migration Research:
2
Which methodological approaches enable us to consider complex links between mobility,
immobility, and spatiality? Which methods are useful for research on migrants’ perceptions of
geographic spaces and territorial boundaries? Which interconnections between social and
territorial spaces can be analyzed within urban contexts of migration? Which methods (i.e.
multi-sited research) can account for new methodological distinctions?

Appropriate Methods for Research on Transnational Diffusion and Cultural Translation:
Which methodological difficulties arise within the research on cross-border diffusion and
adoption of knowledge, technology, and goods? Which methods allow to analyze the meaning
transformation of the transferred social entities in question? Which methodological
consequences arise from considering the specific role of old and new media in the context of
cross-border exchange? Which modes of research organization (i.e. inclusion of ‘native’ co-
interpreter) are useful for adequate ways of data interpretation?

Methodologies and Methods of Transnational Historiography:
Which methods of balancing different transnational influences within the process of nation-
building are appropriate? Which methods are suitable for identifying selected influences of
border zones on neighboring areas? Which forms of ‘measurement’ of mutual penetration of
different cultural areas are suitable?

The conference has both, a theoretical and empirical focus, whereby the emphasis is on
qualitative methodologies. It is aimed to be a forum for interdisciplinary debate and appeals to
colleagues from a range of disciplines, including sociology, history, anthropology,
international relations, and politics. It also intends to bring together established and junior
researchers working on different methodologies of globalization and transnationalization.

Submissions of Proposed Papers
Submissions of short (250-500 words) abstracts are invited (for eventual presentation of
papers that are no more than 3000 words). Please e-mail your abstract and a short
biographical outline to the conference organizer, Devrimsel D. Nergiz, at methodology-
ed.dlefeleib-inu|ecnerefnoc#ed.dlefeleib-inu|ecnerefnoc, by 30 December 2009. Accepted paper givers will be
informed by 15 January 2010. Fully written papers must be submitted by 1 April 2010. We
are able to pay for accommodation (but not travel expanses) for those participants whose
paper is accepted.

Expected Outcomes
The conference aims to publish the selected papers in a volume at Palgrave Macmillan.

Conference location: Centre for Interdisciplinary Research (ZiF), Bielefeld.

The conveners are Devrimsel D. Nergiz (Bielefeld University, BGHS), Dr. Anna Amelina
(Bielefeld University, Centre on Migration, Citizenship and Development, COMCAD),
Gilberto Rescher (Bielefeld University, BGHS), and Nazgul Tajibajeva (Bielefeld University,
BGHS).

This conference is supported by BGHS and DFG (German Research Foundation).

http://www.isa-sociology.org/pdfs/call_bielefeld_2010.pdf

held in conjunction with the Western Social Science Association annual conference

http://www.absborderlands.org/2annualmeetings.html

2nd Conference of the Asian Borderlands Research Network

Chiang Mai University (RCSD), Thailand
5 - 7 November 2010

http://asianborderlands.net/asian-borderlands-enclosure-interaction-and-transformation-call-panels-papers

see pdf

10 DFG-funded doctoral research studentships
1 DFG-funded post-doctoral research position

Starting date: 1st January 2010 (subject to approval from the DFG)

Value of the studentships: € 13,236 p.a. (consisting of monthly: € 1,000 maintenance grant plus a € 103 grant for books and other materials).
The studentship will be awarded for two years initially, and can be extended for a further year after review.

Post-doctoral research topic: “Echoes of Empire: The contemporary influence of old boundaries” (Subject area: History)
Renumeration: from € 28,000 p.a. Salary based on public sector pay scale TV-L 13 (awarded only for two years, extension is not possible).

Closing date for applications: 4th November 2009

The University of Greifswald has received funding from the German Research Foundation (DFG) for the IRTG "Baltic Borderlands” and now invites applications from well-qualified candidates. The programme of study within the IRTG includes relevant courses held locally at each university as well as tri-national workshops in Greifswald, Lund and Tartu. Furthermore, it is expected that each PhD student will spend time as a visiting researcher at the partner universities. The costs of such research visits will be covered by a mobility grant awarded in addition to the monthly allowance.

Requirements:
• Applicants should hold a good first degree and normally have, or be about to obtain, a Masters qualification in a discipline relevant to the PhD topic; or a good PhD.
• Exposé for a research proposal relating to one of the five themes of research (max. 10 pages)
• Good written and spoken English. Knowledge of German, Estonian or Swedish is desirable but not essential.

The willingness and ability of the candidate to participate actively in an international research programme is a precondition. In addition for post-doctoral candidates the willingness to take on organizational and planning tasks, teaching duties, and to supervise PhD students within the International Research Training Group (approx. 10 hours per week) is essential.The programme of study is compulsory for all PhD students in the International Research Training Group. The University of Greifswald is committed to increasing the share of women and disabled people within the organisation. Women and disabled people are explicitly invited to apply.
Holders of a studentship are expected to take up residence in Greifswald.

Applications (with curriculum vitae, copies of educational qualifications and degree thesis, list of publications, a written reference from a university professor, and a research proposal) should be sent to the speaker of the International Research Training Group, Professor Dr. Michael North by 4th November 2009.

Downloads
Borderlands_announcement_doctoral
Borderlands_announcement_post-doctoral

http://www.locallit.net/borders/

The research project Writing Cultures and Traditions at Borders studies writing activities, texts and amateur and professional writers at the national Finland–Russia and Estonia–Russia borderlands. It seeks to give voice to the people whose perceptions of the borders and borderlands have often been neglected by the institutionalized and dominating scholarly and artistic discourses. The study focuses on the late the 20th century and 21st century and examines writing activities on the borderlands in its societal and historical contexts. Further, the research seeks to recognize the national borderlands as areas of unique forms of writing cultures.

The study focuses on the forms on amateur writing that do not follow forms of ethnographic writing or institutionalized literature. It reflects critically to the institutionalized forms of ethnographic writing and literature, as well as, to ideological discourses that have constructed institutional and dominating meanings to the borders and national margins in Finland, Estonia and north-western Russia. The study applies perspectives of cultural, folklore and literary studies. The project is implemented by researchers from University of Joensuu and University of Tartu.

The project is located in the Karelian Institute, University of Joensuu.

http://www.phil.uni-greifswald.de/bereich2/histin/ls/fnz/borderlands.html

funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG)

ARTICLES:
Armand, Louis. "Mechanistics, Grammar and the Locality of Thought." Mapping Liminalities: Thresholds in Cultural and Literary Texts. Eds. Lucy Kay, et al. Bern: Peter Lang, 2007. 167-83.
Blazek, William. "A Moving World: The Port of Liverpool in American Fiction." Mapping Liminalities: Thresholds in Cultural and Literary Texts. Eds. Lucy Kay, et al. Bern: Peter Lang, 2007. 17-40.
Bradley, Arthur. "No Future? Stiegler’s Politics of Memory." Mapping Liminalities: Thresholds in Cultural and Literary Texts. Eds. Lucy Kay, et al. Bern: Peter Lang, 2007. 185-208.
Carruthers, Jo. "The Liminal Becoming of the Rebel Vashti." Mapping Liminalities: Thresholds in Cultural and Literary Texts. Eds. Lucy Kay, et al. Bern: Peter Lang, 2007. 91-109.
Kay, Lucy, et al. "Introduction." Mapping Liminalities: Thresholds in Cultural and Literary Texts. Eds. Lucy Kay, et al. Bern: Peter Lang, 2007. 7-16.
Kinsley, Zoë. "“In moody sadness, on the giddy brink”: Liminality and Home Tour Travel." Mapping Liminalities: Thresholds in Cultural and Literary Texts. Eds. Lucy Kay, et al. Bern: Peter Lang, 2007. 41-67.
Ljungberg, Christina. "Triangular Strategies: Cross-Mapping the Curious Spaces of Siri Hustvedt, Paul Auster and Sophie Calle." Mapping Liminalities: Thresholds in Cultural and Literary Texts. Eds. Lucy Kay, et al. Bern: Peter Lang, 2007. 111-35.
Messent, Peter. "Liminality, Repetition, and Trauma in Hemingway’s Big Two-Hearted River and Other Nick Adams Stories." Mapping Liminalities: Thresholds in Cultural and Literary Texts. Eds. Lucy Kay, et al. Bern: Peter Lang, 2007. 137-65.
Phillips, Terry. ""No World Between Two Worlds": Liminality in Anglo-Irish Big House Literature, 1925-1932." Mapping Liminalities: Thresholds in Cultural and Literary Texts. Eds. Lucy Kay, et al. Bern: Peter Lang, 2007. 69-90.
Roughley, Alan. "No Future? Stiegler’s Politics of Memory." Mapping Liminalities: Thresholds in Cultural and Literary Texts. Eds. Lucy Kay, et al. Bern: Peter Lang, 2007. 209-28.

The online version of this article can be found at:
http://eur.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/15/3/195
DOI: 10.1177/0969776408090418

Title: Falling Walls, Changing Borders in German and Scandinavian Cultures

12-14 February 2010

This interdisciplinary graduate conference will examine the implications of
creating, crossing and changing borders throughout German and Scandinavian
history. Although inspired by the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin
Wall and the subsequent change of political borders in 1989/1990, this
conference aims to look at walls and borders in a broader cultural and
historical context. Of particular interest are questions of space ˆ
physical, mental, cultural, social, historical, political, economic, as well
as interpersonal ˆ and its effects. For this conference, walls and borders
can be specific, physical manifestations, or they can be imaginary or
presumed. In thinking about borders and the walls that, at times, define
them, some questions that arise include:

• What is the relationship of a political border and a wall that defines it physically?
• What specific events surround the building or destruction of such walls?
• Who is permitted to cross the border and who is not?
• What does the interruption of space mean to the people on either side of it?
• How does identity change with building and collapse of walls, changing political boundaries, or crossing borders?
• How do ideas change, mutually inflect, move and evolve across such boundaries?
• How are national, ethnic, or racial identities shaped or affected by walls and borders?
• How are walls and borders represented in literary and cultural texts? How do walls and borders influence literary and cultural production?

Possible paper topics include but are not limited to the following: the
building and/or collapse of walls and political boundaries, ideology, the
passing of time, identity constructions, public and private memory, gender,
religion, family and relationships, generational conflicts, cultural
production and reception, race, language and communication, and historical,
literary, and cultural narratives.

Deadline for Paper Proposals: Sunday, October 25, 2009. Proposals should be
one page and include a biographical paragraph. Submit to Delene White and
Victoria Lenshyn: ude.ssamu.namreg|etihwmd#ude.ssamu.namreg|etihwmd and ude.ssamu.namreg|nyhsnelv#ude.ssamu.namreg|nyhsnelv

Grenzen sind unabdingbare Voraussetzung für politisches Denken und Handeln. Dennoch haben sie in der politischen Theorie bislang keine besondere Aufmerksamkeit gefunden. Andreas Vasilache beleuchtet erstmals die Rolle der Grenze in der politischen Theorie und Praxis der Neuzeit. Anhand der Texte von Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Foucault und Agamben zeigt er, dass moderne Politik trotz Globalisierung noch immer im Zeichen des Staates und seiner zahlreichen Grenzziehungen steht.

Nordlit 24 (2009)

ISSN 0809-1668
http://uit.no/humfak/publikasjonar/3

Special issue: 2008 European Conference of the Association of Borderlands Studies (selected papers)
eds. Johan Schimanski and Stephen Wolfe
Open access - for pdfs, see below

Johan Schimanski and Stephen Wolfe

Introduction: Cultural Production and Negotiation of Borders
5-8 pdf

Mieke Bal

Becoming the World Versus Identity Politics
9-30 pdf & photos

Helena Bodin

Seeking Byzantium on the Borders of Narration, Identity, Space and Time in Julia Kristeva’s Novel Murder in Byzantium 31-43 pdf

Steen Christiansen

Written in Skin: Suicidegirls
45-52 pdf

Ruben Moi

Bordering Binarities and Cognitive Cartography: What on Earth Does Literature Have to do with Border Transactions?
53-64 pdf

Jaume Castan Pinos

Identity Challenges Affecting the Spanish Enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla
65-80 pdf

Nicole Pissowotzki

Colonial Fantasies, Narrative Borders, and the Canadian North in the Works of Germany's Colin Ross (1885-1945)
81-97 pdf

Olga Taraskina

From the History of Cultural Cooperation between the Murmansk Region and the Scandinavian Countries and Finland (1985 – 2008)
99-108 pdf

Hein Viljoen

Creolization and the Production and Negotiation of Boundaries in Breyten Breytenbach’s Recent Work
99-108 pdf

Other selected papers have appeared in a special issue of Journal of Northern Studies (2009/1) and will be appearing in a special dossier in Journal of Borderlands Studies

Dear colleagues,

In the perspective of the next AAG Annual Meeting 2010 that will be held in Washington D.C., the 14-18 April 2010, we are looking forward to set up a special session focussing on borders and cities. The idea is to bring together scholars working on international boundaries and border regions from North America and Europe in order to analyse the transformations that affect (trans)border cities in a comparative perspective. Such a session could also be an opportunity to address conceptual issues such as the specificity of binational cities or the ambivalent role of borders (barriers or bridges) in the construction of cross-border city regions.

In order to collect papers from both regions, we believe that the session should be co-organized between North-American and European academics. In doing so, we would optimize the diffusion of the call for papers into different networks. Organizing a session for the AAG Annual Meeting is by no way an exhausting task. So if you are interested, do not hesitate to contact us (christophe.sohn@ceps.lu).

We look forward to hearing from you,

Best regards,

Christophe Sohn, Antoine Decoville & Olivier Walther, Centre for Population, Poverty and Public Policy Studies (CEPS/INSTEAD), Luxembourg

Dr Christophe Sohn
Chargé de recherches
Département Géographie et Développement
Centre de recherche public CEPS/INSTEAD
B.P. 48, L-4501 DIFFERDANGE
Tél : (352) 58 58 55 613
Fax : (352) 58 55 60
http://metrolux.ceps.lu/

Journal of Northern Studies 2009/1

ISSN: 1654-5915
http://www.jns.org.umu.se/

Special issue: Cultural Production and Negotiation of Northern Borders
(selected papers from the ABS European Conference in Kirkenes in 2008)
eds. Johan Schimanski, Stephen Wolfe and Einar Niemi
ABSTRACTS

Johan Schimanski, Stephen Wolfe and Einar Niemi

Introduction: Cultural Production and Negotiation of Northern Borders 7-11

Anne Heith

Millenarianism and the Narration of the Nation: Narratives about the Korpela Movement 13-29

Anastasia Rogova

“Chicken is not a bird—Kirkenes is not abroad”: Borders and Territories in the Perception of the Local Population in a Russian-Norwegian Borderland 31-42

Jukka Nyyssönen

The Control of the Cultural Borders between the Finns and the Skolt Sami – from Ambivalence to Respect for the Border 43-54

Rolf Inge Larsen

Reconciliation or Power Struggle? On the Consecration of the Chapel in Skibotn in 1931 55-68

Magnus Rodell

Fortifications in the Wilderness: The Making of Swedish-Russian Borderlands around 1900 69-89

Roald Berg

The 19th Century Norwegian-Swedish Border: Imagined Community or Pluralist Security System? 91-103

Other selected papers have appeared in a special issue of Nordlit (24, 2009) and will be appearing in a special dossier in Journal of Borderlands Studies

The "Russia in Europe" Graduate School in Border Studies is a
multi-disciplinary PhD programme on borders, border areas and
cross-border interaction. The national graduate school is offered by
the Universities of Helsinki, Eastern Finland, Oulu and Tampere,
Helsinki School of Economics and, as an expert organization, the
Finnish Institute of International Affairs. From 1 January 2010 the
study programme will be co-ordinated by the Karelian Institute of
the University of Eastern Finland (formerly University of Joensuu)
and will have contributions from leading institutes and research
groups focusing on state formation and region building, border
conflicts and conflict prevention, cohesion and neighbourhood
policies of the European Union, cross-border economic, political and
cultural interaction, as well as development, everyday life and
identities of border regions.

The doctoral student positions are designed for persons interested
in academic research who hold a Master's or Licentiate degree in
history, cultural studies, women's studies, sociology, international
relations or political science, social policy, geography or business
administration (incl. economic geography). Doctoral students will
conduct their doctoral studies in one of the participating
universities.

Applications should be accompanied by:
1. a research plan that includes a plan of execution (maximum 3 pages)
2. a Curriculum Vitae (CV) and list of publications
3. a short description of the applicant's work career and other
merits pertinent to the vacancy
4. a one-page description of the post-graduate study plan, including
a timetable and current stage of post-graduate studies, as well as
the information concerning dissertation supervisor
5. a description of the research group/ department in which the
dissertation will be completed
6. certified copies of degrees
7. a letter of support from the dissertation supervisor in a sealed envelope

The central criteria in the evaluation are previous studies,
publications, and the research plan. Applications and enclosures
will not be returned. The applicants need to have adequate language
proficiency as required by their research. Applicants may be invited
for an interview.

Doctoral students will be appointed for a maximum of four years. It
is possible to appoint a person also for a shorter period if it is
estimated that graduation will occur sooner. In case an applicant
applies for a shorter research period or intends to begin later than
1.1.2010, it must be stated in the application.

Each vacancy salary is based on the job demand levels 1-2 of
university teaching and research personnel, i.e. the basic salary is
1643.42 ? 1754.73 ?/ month. In addition to this sum, the salary will
include a personal work performance component that is a maximum
additional 46.3% of the competence level.

Applications addressed to the Board of the Graduate School should
include three (3) copies of the application and accompanying
documents and must be received by 16.15 on 25.9.2009 by the Registry
Office, University of Joensuu, P.O. Box 111, 80101 Joensuu.

Further information: Professor Ilkka Liikanen, (tel. +358-(0)13-251
2461; ilkka.liikanen [at] joensuu.fi) and/or Senior Researcher Joni
Virkkunen (tel. +358-(0)13-251 4662; joni.virkkunen [at] joensuu.fi).

JOENSUUN YLIOPISTO 4.9.2009
Hallintovirasto, PL 111, 80101 Joensuu
(käyntiosoite: Yliopistokatu 2, Aurora)

You can find the call for application and more information about the
graduate school from http://www.joensuu.fi/ktl/russiaineurope

"An exhilarating and blackly funny exploration of migration and borders from an Albanian who grew up in Hoxha’s madhouse, longing to cross to Greece, only to find another seam of absurdities and disappointments on his eventual arrival."

ORIGINAL:
Καπλανι, Γκαζμεντ. Μικρό ημερολόγιο συνόρων. Athēna: Εκδοτικός Οργανισμός Λιβάνη, 2006.
9601412263 9789601412269

• invitation
• programme

The project will investigate how changing perceptions of borders relate to shifting practices of aesthetic evaluation. Involving several international partners, it will focus on case studies from the Barents regions, using as a comparison cases from the Mediterranean sphere.

(Klagenfurt/Austria, 25 - 26 September 2009)

PROGRAMME (as at September 1st)

Friday, 25 September

09:15 – 09:30 Welcome
Hans-Joachim BODENHÖFER (Dean, AAU School of
Management & Economics)
Božena KRCE MIOČIĆ (University of Zadar, Faculty of
Economics & Business)
Josef LANGER (AAU, Head of Department of Sociology)

09:30 – 10:15 Opening session of the Symposium
Convener: Josef LANGER (AAU)

Józef NIśNIK (Warschau)
Theories of Integration and the Future of the European
Union

10:15 – 10:30 Discussion

10:30 – 11:00 János Zsigmond KENDERNAY (Budapest)
European Union: Inner Dynamics Under the Surface

11:00 – 11:15 Discussion

11:15 – 11:30 Break

11:30 – 12:00 Thomas DÖRING – Birgit AIGNER (Villach)
Is the European Union Doing the Right Things?

12:00 – 12:15 Discussion

12:15 – 14:00 Lunch Break

Afternoon Session
Convener: Barbara HÖNIG

14:00 – 14:30 Vittorio OLGIATI (Macerata)
The Law ‘Revealed’: Socio-legal Pluralism and the
Unsustainable Sociability of Civil Constitutions – Lessons
for Europe

14:30 – 14:45 Discussion

14:45 – 15:15 Lojze SOČAN (Ljubljana)
The Role of Institutional Infrastructure in the Future of
Europe

15:15 – 15:30 Discussion

15:30 – 15:45 Break

15:00 – 16:15 Reis MULITA (Trieste)
Europe: Between Diminishing Political Borders and New
Social Borders

16:15 – 16:30 Discussion

16:45 – 17:15 Milan JAZBEC (Ljubljana)
The EU: An Empire in Search for a Joke

17:15 – 17:30 Discussion

19:00 Informal dinner

Saturday, 26 September

Morning Session
Convener: Josef LANGER (AAU)

09:15 – 9:45 Franck BIANCHERI (Paris)
Laboratoire Europeen d’Anticipation Politique (LEAP) –
The Future Today

9:45 – 10:00 Discussion

10:00 – 10:30 Gertrúd KENDERNAY-NAGYIDAI (Budapest)
Challenges Facing the EU – Enlargement: Déjà vu or
Something Else?

10:30 – 10:45 Discussion

10:45 – 11:15 Laura DIB (Helsinki)
The EU and the Eastern Neighbourhood – Perspectives for
Future Relations

11:15 – 11:30 Discussion

11:30 – 12:00 Nuri Ali TAHIR (Trieste)
After Turkey’s Full Membership – The Role of the EU as an
Actor to Democratize its New Neighbourhood

12:00 – 12:15 Discussion

12:15 – 14:00 Lunch Break

Afternoon Session
Convener: Józef NIśNIK

14:00 – 14:30 Hans-Peter MEIER-DALLACH (Zürich)
Climate Hitting Europe’s Birds: What Will Be?

14:30 – 14:45 Discussion

14:45 – 15:15 Barbara HÖNIG (Feldkirchen)
In Which Way Can we Speak of a Europeanization of
Sociology

15:15 – 15:30 Discussion

15:30 – 15:45 Break

15:45 – 16:15 Manfred RUPRECHTER (Oberpiesting)
European Union Impact on Day to Day Business

16:15 – 16:30 Discussion

16:30 – 17:00 Zlatko TIŠLJAR (Maribor)
Europe 2050 – What Language? (Video)

17:00 – 17:15 Discussion

17:15 – 17:45 Summary/Conclusion/Closing of the Symposium

20:00 Joint Dinner

Karen.Meehan@uni-klu.ac.at