CFP: Borderlands | Graduate Student Conference (University of Pittsburgh)

Deadline: January 17, 2020

Borderlands
Call for Papers
17th Annual Graduate Student Conference
Graduate Organization for the Study of Europe and Central Asia (GOSECA)
University of Pittsburgh, February 28-29, 2020

Borders—whether political, cultural, linguistic, or otherwise—are artificial constructs, often fluid and rarely unanimously accepted. The spaces between and beyond the lines of demarcation—the “borderlands”—often manifest as multicultural, impermanent places of shifting identities and disparate perspectives. Many scholars have remarked on the global and cultural transformations that have taken place since 1989 and the accompanying emergence of new borderlands in Europe and Central Asia. The liminal spaces around these borders have become new points of contact and conflict for various cultures and ideologies, now brought together or divided by the turn of history. For its 17th annual conference, the Graduate Organization for the Study of Europe and Central Asia (GOSECA) at the University of Pittsburgh invites presentations that explore the concept of “borderlands,” whether political, ideological, cultural, linguistic or of another type altogether.

 GOSECA will consider submissions on all topics and from all fields will be considered. Potential questions may include, but are not limited to:

·      How do political borders align and conflict with ideological, cultural, and linguistic borders and how does this affect individuals and communities?

·      What happens to identity, nationality, and ethnicity for individuals and communities living in and around contested borders?

·      In what ways are borders contested or reinforced?

·      In spaces that are always multicultural, and in a world with ever greater movement of people(s), how has our understanding of the border changed?

·      How are borderlands manifested temporally as well as geographically?

·      How has the concept of the borderland itself transformed across history?

Submission Deadline: Friday, January 17, 2020, 11:59 PM

Please submit a 300 word abstract and a 2 page CV to info.goseca@gmail.com

Accepted papers will be notified by Thursday, January 31, 2020

Please contact info.goseca@gmail.com with any questions.