609704 VU Current Research Perspectives, Theories and Methods: Border Studies: British Borders and Beyond
Sommersemester 2021 | Stand: 24.02.2021 | LV auf Merkliste setzenBorders are central when it comes to the implementation of geo-political power, of ideologies and the translation of perceived cultural communities into national and trans-national entities. In the last two decades, the so-called ‘War on Terror’, Brexit, the movement of refugees, as well as measures taken in an attempt to control the spread of the Corona-Virus have highlighted how volatile borders are in the first place.
And the extension and expansion of borders by means of (digital) surveillance stresses that borders are anything but a single line on the ground. Hence, it comes as no surprise that the idea of borders as performative rather than static entities has gained traction in current research. In this seminar we will discuss, on the one hand, theoretical approaches to borders, such as liminality, performativity, imagined communities, etc. On the other hand, we will apply these concepts to various case-studies such as Brexit – particularly the border between Northern Island and the Republic of Island, Gibraltar, the „Fortress Europe”, or post-colonial border-practices such as the daily beating-retreat on the Wagah-Border. We will also consider border-theories when it comes to more conceptual, epistemic borders between constructions of humanity, nature, and technology.
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