The theme of the Sixth Annual International Conference on Border Studies is “Transborderism: Reimagining Social Space.” We solicit proposals that contribute to the new and critical thinking on global borders and that further the growing field of transborderism, focusing on both actual borders and/or their relation to the social imaginary. With this conference theme, we seek to offer a critical exchange concerning borders and border theory that, according to Norma Iglesias-Prieto, “refers to the frequency, intensity, directionality, and scale of crossing activities ... associated with greater cultural capacity and richness, increased complexity in the ways people perceive the border, as well as richer concepts of self-identity.” We aim to examine the complexities of transborder space and the citizens and identities that occupy that space and explore what Iglesias-Prieto calls the diversity and dynamics of the border zone. We invite papers from researchers, teachers, and activists that focus on transborderism, the border, border identities, and the social imaginary as a site of cultural, political, and legal contestation. 

 We are excited to see such growing interest in the conference. Last year, the conference hosted speakers from 15 countries (US, Mexico, Chile, Peru, the United Kingdom, Demark, The Netherlands, France, Austria, Turkey, India, Indonesia, South Africa, Cameroon and Kuwait) and from over 30 academic institutions.  

 We are especially pleased to have Nicolas De Genova as our keynote speaker this year. 

 The proximity to the border of our locations in Mexico and the US is a special opportunity for scholars and researchers from around the globe to collaborate in a unique geographic region and present multidisciplinary research on the important and timely issues related to borders. The conference aims to encourage working together across borders and developing lasting collaborative relationships to find solutions to some of the most important international economic, social, and ecological problems we face today.   

 The organizers welcome proposals from all disciplines. Those proposals with interdisciplinary, critical, and global approaches are especially welcome. Panels are also encouraged.  

For any questions, contact Caroline Miles at caroline.miles@utrgv.edu or call (956) 457-3083

Students attending this conference also have the opportunity to:  Request Support

 View the Call for Proposals below:

Please submit your proposals below:

Panel Sessions & Roundtable Discussions

Title: To be announced.

Bios: To be announced.

Abstract: To be announced.

Click below or  (Here)   to view the 2021 Border Studies Conference Program

The Fifth Annual International Border Studies Conference Program

Click below or  (Here)  to view Conference Posters

  Conference Posters

• Conference Keynote Speaker: Nicholas de Genova, Ph.D.

• Nicholas De Genova www.nicholasdegenova.com is Professor and
  Chair of the Department of Comparative Cultural Studies at the
  University of Houston. He previously held teaching appointments
  in urban and political geography at King’s College London, and in
  anthropology at Stanford, Columbia, and Goldsmiths, and
  University of London, as well as visiting professorships or research
  positions at the Universities of Warwick, Bern, and Amsterdam. He
  is the author of Working the Boundaries: Race, Space, and
  "Illegality" in Mexican Chicago (2005), co-author of Latino
  Crossings: Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and the Politics of Race and
  Citizenship (2003), editor of Racial Transformations: Latinos and
  Asians Remaking the United States (2006), co-editor of The
  Deportation Regime: Sovereignty, Space, and the Freedom of
  Movement (2010), editor of The Borders of “Europe”: Autonomy of
  Migration, Tactics of Bordering (2017), co-editor of Roma Migrants
  in the European Union: Un/Free Mobility (2019), and co-editor of
  Europa/ Crisis: Nuevas Palabras Claves en “la Crisis” en y de
  “Europa” (2021).
• Professor De Genova’s work has received international attention
  and he has been invited to speak in more than 35 countries. He has
  conducted extensive ethnographic research among transnational
  Mexican/ migrant factory workers in Chicago during the 1990s.
  More recently, his research has investigated the politics of
  immigration, race, and citizenship in the United States, as well as
  the securitization of human mobility and the diverse experiences of
  migrant labor and borders on a global scale. He is also interested in
  the intersections of migration, racialization, border struggles, and
  the production of urban space in the European context.
• In collaboration with Sandro Mezzadra, political theorist at the
  University of Bologna, Professor De Genova has also initiated a
  multi-disciplinary research network on “The ‘European’ Question:
  Postcolonial Perspectives on Migration, Nation, and Race.” More
  recently, he has served as Project Advisor and a participant in a new
  collaborative international network involving more than 70
  researchersin 24 countries.

Previous Border Studies Conference