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Borders and Walls
2nd Inclusive Interdisciplinary Conference

 

Saturday 9th July 2022 - Sunday 10th July 2022
Athens, Greece

This conference has been cancelled.
In a contemporary moment where human mobility is shaped by a global pandemic, the ongoing effects of climate change, and growing economic instability, the role and utility of borders are in need of renewed exploration. The spread of the novel coronavirus has made the ways in which borders structure and constrain our lives apparent to more people than ever. Due to the pandemic, billions of people around the world have faced the realities of confinement to home countries as traversal across international lines has been limited only to those with sufficient claims to citizenship, residence, and now, proof of vaccination. Some argue that in times like these, borders provide security, the preconditions for effective governance, and the distribution of goods and services within a given population. Yet, others might ask to what extent they simultaneously reinforce hegemony and bar access to necessities—such as life saving COVID vaccines and other medical infrastructure—for those who, by mere lottery of birth, happened to be born on the ‘wrong’ side.

In reality, people across the globe have been grappling with the asymmetries bound up in borders ever since the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia and the emergence of modern nation-state, a geopolitical concept that has hitherto fundamentally relied on the existence of borders—both in their physical manifestations as well as in the political imagination and in terms self-determination. On one hand, in consolidated economic spheres such as the European Union, citizens have enjoyed decades of free and uninhibited movement across the continent. Yet, it’s undeniable that certain member states have fared far better than others in this arrangement, and each national project within the Schengen Zone has struggled with questions of pluralism and exclusion. Meanwhile, the US-Mexican border of the post-9/11 world is increasingly militarized via structures and technologies, and those same structures have disseminated to other borderlands such as that of Israel-Palestine, whose tensions have only risen in recent months. Thus, borders and their meanings exist within complex social, political, and economic networks where movement is codified by factors such as ethnicity, social class, and cultural narrative.

Moving beyond conventional notions of borders as static lines separating “us” from “them” and “inside” from “outside,” this conference aims to open a non-essentialist conversation about borders and walls. As inclusive and multidisciplinary, we seek submissions on the varying significance of borders and borderlands across a wide array of contexts and fields including but not limited to architecture, sociology, urban planning, history, anthropology, linguistics, literature, art, poetry, performance, journalism, and cartography. We welcome both traditional and nontraditional formats ranging from empirical research and analysis, ethnography, and journalism to poetry, performance, film, and fictocriticism. Drawing upon this multiplicity of perspectives from people directly affected by borders, our objective is to invite critical reflection with respect to the presence of borders as constructs in contemporary society, their transnational histories, and multidimensional significance. We seek to imagine border alternatives, and to open up space for new approaches and understandings via interdisciplinary exchanges.

Key Topics

Key topics, themes and issues for discussion may include, but are definitely not limited to:

  • Border as metaphor 
  • Critical implications of border technology and security 
  • Local voices in border literature, poetry, art, performance 
  • Borders and architecture 
  • Borders and the nation-state
  • Borders within nations (states, lands reserved for Indigenous peoples, territories)
  • The neoliberal border 
  • Globalization’s impacts
  • Trade (including trade agreements; clandestine/smuggling/informal economies; remittances) 
  • Necroviolence and necropolitics 
  • Identity construction 
  • International development 
  • Transnational histories or case studies about border wall projects (Berlin, Israel, US-Mexican) 
  • Key border regions: EU, US-Mexican (maquiladoras, border towns), Israel (Gaza); post-9/11; Russia-Osettian (Georgia); India-Pakistan  
  • Borders & walls in fiction and literature 
  • “Frontiers,” nation expansion, imperialism 
  • Border as industry (analysis financial investments/corporate stakeholders that maintain and expand these projects) 
  • Border violence 
  • Bifurcation & creation of borderlands 
  • Borders over time: i.e. modern/post-Westphalian border 
  • Borders as theorized vs. borders as lived; borders as real and imagined
  • Borders as theorized vs. borders as lived; borders as real and imagined
  • Poetics of space, spatiality and the border
  • (Mis)representations of borders
  • Mapping, archiving, and cartography
  • Border ethnographies
  • Critiques of border essentialism
  • Resisting borders & (anti)border movements
  • “Natural” borders vs. constructed borders
  • Border ontologies and linguistic constructions of borders\
  • Open borders & debordering
  • Borders and migration (clandestine vs. legitimized)
  • Borders and citizenship, identity, belonging
  • Beyond the wall: borders as institutions/institutional maintenance (consulates/embassy, specialized border police forces, bureaucracy/documentation)
  • Transnational relationships between borders (e.g. Israel/US-Mexican); comparative analyses
  • Traversing and transportation with respect to borders
  • Border disputes and contestations
  • Borders and legality/law & immigration law; borders and “criminality”
  • Borders and human rights
  • Race, class, sexuality: sociology of border
  • Critical analysis of terms such as immigrant, expat, migrant, refugee
  • Borders and Indigenous sovereignty
  • Emancipatory visions with respect to a world without borders
  • Borders and ecology/biodiversity; environmental impacts of border walls

What To Send

This interdisciplinary conference and collaborative networking event aim to bring together academics, professionals, practitioners, NGOs, voluntary sector workers, etc., in the context of a variety of formats: presentations, seminars, workshops, panels, performances, etc.

300-word reviews of your proposed contribution (paper abstracts, proposals for workshops, collaborative works or round tables, overviews of artistic projects, or any other relevant forms of participation you are interested in) should be submitted by Friday 11th February 2022

All submissions will be minimally double reviewed, under anonymous (blind) conditions, by an international panel drawn from the Project Advisory Team and the Advisory Board. In practice, our procedures usually entail that by the time a proposal is accepted, it will have been triple and quadruple reviewed.

You will be notified of the panel’s decision by Friday 25th February 2022

If your submission is accepted for the conference, a complete draft of your contribution should be submitted by Friday, 20th May 2022

Proposals may be in Word, PDF, RTF, or Notepad formats with the following information and in this order:
a) author(s), b) affiliation as you would like it to appear in the programme, c) email address, d) title of proposal, e) body of the proposal, f) up to 10 keywords.

Emails should be entitled:  Borders Submission

Where To Send

Abstracts should be submitted simultaneously to the Organising Chair and the Project Administrator:

Lily Cichanowicz (Organising Chair): lac295@cornell.edu
Len Capuli: (Project Administrator): athensborders@progressiveconnexions.net 

 

Details and Information

 
Fees
Key Dates
Venue & Accomodation
Outcomes
Payment

Registration Fees

The Registration Fee is £275 and includes:

~ conference registration fee
~ online registration
~ online abstract and programme submissions
~ Book of Abstracts
~ Delegate Pack (online and physical)
~ Sunday coffee/tea on arrival
~ Sunday morning coffee and biscuits
~ Sunday lunch
~ Sunday afternoon tea and biscuits
~ Sunday evening wine and drinks reception
~ drinks in the conference room
~ Monday morning coffee and biscuits
~ Monday lunch
~ Monday afternoon tea and biscuits
~ drinks in the conference room
~ participation in project output discussion session
~ discounted rates for any outputs emerging from the event
~ discounted rate for attendance at further Progressive Connexions activities and events

Calendar of time-lines and deadlines

Friday 11th February 2022
Abstract/Presentation submission

Friday 25th February 2022
Acceptance/Rejection notification

Friday 8th April 2022
Booking Form Submissions

by Monday 11th April 2022
Circulation of Draft Programme
Invoices issued

Friday 29th April 2022
Final date for payment

Friday 13th May 2022
Circulation of Revised Programme
Full draft of presentation to be submitted

Friday 3rd June 2022
Final programme to printing

The conference is being held at the Titania Hotel Athens

A timeless hotel right in the heart of Athens!
Situated in the very center of Athens, between Syntagma & Omonia squares and METRO stations, Panepistimio & Omonia

52, Panepistimiou 10678, Athens -Greece
Tel: +30.210-33.26.000 Fax: +30.210-33.00.700
e-mail: sales@titania.gr / titania@titania.gr / events@titania.gr

We have reserved rooms for delegates at the conference hotel on favourable terms and conditions. On having a proposal accepted for presentation at the conference, and on the completion and submission of a booking form, a special booking form will be sent to you along with instructions on how to use it in order to access these terms.

Standard Room - Single Occupancy €120 per night including breakfast and all taxes
Standard Room - Double/Twin Person Occupancy €130 per night including breakfast and all taxes

Details will be sent to delegates on how to access these rates once receipt of the booking form has been confirmed.
Accommodation bookings are made directly with the hotel, not Progressive Connexions. All payments for accommodation are made directly to the hotel as well. A credit card will be required on booking.
You are free to find alternative accommodation. We are offering these arrangements as a convenience to folks who would like to be at the conference venue.

The conferences, meetings and events we organise are not single ‘one-off’ events. They are part of a continual stream of conversations, activities and projects which grow and evolve in different directions. At the conclusion of every meeting, the question needs to be considered: What happens next? After all, there is little personal, educational or professional benefit in gathering people together from around the world and sharing all sorts of fascinating conversations if nothing further is going to happen as a result!

The possible ranges of ‘outputs’ which can productively flow from our meetings is a dynamic response to the dialogues, issues and engagements that take place during the events themselves. And as our meetings are attended by folks who come from different backgrounds, contexts, professions and vocations, what people would like to see developed as a result of our time spent together will always be potentially diverse, fluid and appropriate to what took place.

One range of possible outputs involves publication as a way of continuing the work of a project. Where publishing is a possibility, it is directly referenced in the Call for Papers, Presentations and Participation. Other possible outputs may include, but are not limited to:
~ social media platforms such as Facebook pages and groups, blogs, wikis, Twitter, as vehicles for continuing dialogues, disseminating knowledge and information and bringing new people into the work of the project
~ reviews; reports; policy statements; position papers/statements; declarations of principles
~ proposals for meetings, workshops, courses, schools
~ collaboration gateways, platforms and media
~ personal and professional development opportunities: faculty development; mentoring programmes; cultural cruises; consultancies; summer schools; personal enrichment programmes

The range of outputs is dependent on how little or how much you would like to become involved. Don’t let the end of the meeting signal the end of your involvement with the project. Please get involved, bounce ideas around, think out loud – we’d love to hear about what you’d like to do and are always happy to talk about what is possible.

Payment Process
Participants must complete the online booking form by  Friday 18th March 2022 at the latest.
After the deadline has expired, an invoice will be drawn up and sent to you; the invoice will contain all the necessary information for you to pay by bank transfer, cheque, Paypal or credit card.
The invoice must be settled by Friday 29th April 2022

It is the responsibility of delegates to ensure that payment is made by this date. Failure to receive payment will result in your booking being cancelled.

Payment Methods
There are a number of ways payment can be made.

Cheque
Payment can be made by cheque, in GBP (£ sterling) only and must be drawn against a bank with headquarters in the United Kingdom. Cheques should be made payable to ‘Progressive Connexions’ and sent, with a copy of the booking form, to:

Dr Rob Fisher
Progressive Connexions
Priory House
149b Wroslyn Road
Freeland
Oxfordshire. OX29 8HR
United Kingdom

We regret we cannot and will not accept cheques made payable in currencies other than GBP Sterling.

Bank Transfer Payment may be made using bank transfer. There will be an option to pay in either GBP (£ Sterling) or Euro (€). Full details to enable a bank transfer are made available on your conference invoice. If paying by this method, you must agree to pay all charges at the sending and receiving banks.

By Invoice
You may request that an invoice be sent to you which you may forward to your institution. It is your responsibility to ensure that the invoice is paid before the payment deadline.

Online
Your invoice will include a link to pay through a secure and encrypted online payment system. Please click the link to use this method.

Credit Card
Payment may also be made using credit card. We cannot accept American Express or Discovery as a form of payment.

Paypal
Payment may also be made using Paypal. If paying by this method please send us the email account connected with your Paypal account and we will forward you a request for payment.

IMPORTANT
We strongly recommend that all delegates take out some form of travel or other insurance in relation to any and all travel arrangements or accommodation booked in regard to the conference. This should include cancellation insurance in the event of unforeseen or unexpected circumstances.

All fees are payable in advance. No delegate will be permitted entry to the conference if an invoice is still unpaid.

What’s so Special?

A fresh, friendly, dynamic format – at Progressive Connexions we are dedicated to breaking away from the stuffy, old-fashion conference formats, where endless presentations are read aloud off PowerPoints. We work to bring you an interactive format, where exchange of experience and information is alternated with captivating workshops, engaging debates and round tables, time set aside for getting to know each other and for discussing common future projects and initiatives, all in a warm, relaxed, egalitarian atmosphere.

 

A chance to network with international professionals – the beauty of our interdisciplinary events is that they bring together professionals from all over the world and from various fields of activity, all joined together by a shared passion. Not only will the exchange of experience, knowledge and stories be extremely valuable in itself, but we seek to create lasting, ever-growing communities around our projects, which will become a valuable resource for those belonging to them.

 

A chance to be part of constructing change – There is only one thing we love as much as promoting knowledge: promoting real, lasting social change by encouraging our participants to take collective action, under whichever form is most suited to their needs and expertise (policy proposals, measuring instruments, research projects, educational materials, etc.) We will support all such actions in the aftermath of the event as well, providing a platform for further discussions, advice from the experts on our Project Advisory Team and various other tools and intellectual resources, as needed.

 

An opportunity to discuss things that matter to you – Our events are not only about discussing how things work in the respective field, but also about how people work in that field – what are the struggles, problems and solutions professionals have found in their line of work, what are the areas where better communication among specialists is needed and how the interdisciplinary approach can help bridge those gaps and help provide answers to questions from specific areas of activity.

 

An unforgettable experience – When participating in a Progressive Connexions event, there is a good chance you will make some long-time friends. Our group sizes are intimate, our venues are comfortable and relaxing and our event locations are suited to the history and culture of the event.

Ethos

Progressive Connexions believes it is a mark of personal courtesy and professional respect to your colleagues that all delegates should attend for the full duration of the meeting. If you are unable to make this commitment, please do not submit an abstract or proposal for presentation.

 

Please note: Progressive Connexions is a not-for-profit network and we are not in a position to be able to assist with conference travel or subsistence, nor can we offer discounts off published rates and fees.

Progressive Connexions is a not-for-profit network inspiring inclusive interdisciplinary research, publishing and collaboration