Migrations and borders in the United States: discourses, representations, imaginary contexts

My wampum research and interest in crossing cultural borders has led to my involvement in a conference being held in Grenoble, France, 29-31 March 2017. More information on the conference can be found here.

The conference theme is conceived along the following lines:

Migration studies are at the core of American history. Whether voluntary or involuntary, migrations peopled the continent. Waves of immigration have created an American identity which is continuously modified by new arrivals and changing patterns of cultural transmission and dominance. While cultural mobility seems to be an unstoppable global phenomenon, local resistance, mainly among minorities, is observed. Cultures—or cultural traits—also migrate on their own, disregarding borders.

The international borders of the United States have evolved from a moving ‘frontier’ line and have reached their present state in the 19th century. International borders have evolved from porous to tight, first on the Mexican border, and after 9/11, also on the Canadian border. ‘Borderland’ studies (Herbert Bolton) date back to the early decades of the 20th Century but experience a renewal. Other internal ‘borders’ are continuously shifting: borders between different land-use areas—protected vs unprotected, land lost or gained by Native American Nations, land claimed as Hispanic ‘land grants’, gentrified neighborhoods, urban sprawl and imploding cities.

The present conference aims to analyze all forms of discourses, representations and imaginary contexts linked to migrations and borders—in the broad sense—in the United States.