Western Washington University

10/17/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 10/17/2024 17:00

BPRI issues Call For Papers in advance of annual Borderlands Conference this spring

BPRI issues Call For Papers in advance of annual Borderlands Conference this spring

October 17, 2024

Western Washington University's Border Policy Research Institute will host the annual Association for Borderlands Studies conference this spring in Seattle, and has issued a Call for Papers (CFP) for researchers.

Call for Papers

2025 Annual Conference

April 2-5, 2025, Seattle, WA, USA

Governing across borders: (Re)imagining people, place, and policy.

Borders divide and unite. Their presence can give rise to both challenges and opportunities that are uniquely shaped by governance structures. In recent years, many longstanding entities that existed beyond borders have evolved, some strengthening (for example, the expansion of NATO in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine) and others weakening (such as the influence the World Health Organization during the Covid pandemic). As these mechanisms evolve, so too are the magnitude of problems that are supranational in nature (i.e., climate change, global migration, conflict). Borderlands often bear the brunt of these problems even as they are located at the margins of decision making. Yet borderlands, and borderlanders themselves, can foster innovative and adaptable forms of governance. Understanding these people, places, and policies that govern at and across borders is increasingly relevant and valuable on a global scale.

As we welcome the ABS annual conference to Seattle, we seek to highlight one of the leading border regions in the world where Indigenous Nations and sub-national stakeholders are steadily becoming a driving force in governing across borders. We hope to foster a fertile ground for comparative research between borderland regions and invite border scholars from all disciplines to present their research and knowledge of how governance and unique governance structures - both across borders and from borderlands - are addressing local, national or global challenges. We hope to draw insights from the three sub-themes of people, place and policy that shape a variety of multi-level governance mechanisms affecting borderlands and their populations.

As always, the Association for Borderlands Studies Annual Conference extends its invitation beyond the conference theme to bring together a community of researchers encompassing a wide range of topics and ways of seeing borders and borderlands. Proposals from across the diverse field of border studies are welcome, and we particularly encourage complete panel and roundtable sessions that reflect a diversity not only in theme and focus but also methodologies and voices. Individual papers and book presentations are also welcome.

Important dates:

  • November 30, 2024: Deadline for early bird registration
  • December 20, 2024: Deadline to submit a proposal
  • Mid-January 2025: Notification of acceptance to participants

To submit a proposal:

Individual paper (single or multiple authored paper)

  • Title and abstract of no more than 250 words

Panel (group of papers - min. 3, max. 5 - with a similar theme, led by a chair

  • Presenters: Each presenter must submit their paper as individual paper (title and abstract of no more than 250 words) and include the title of the panel in the abstract.
  • Organizer(s): Submit an abstract of the theme of the panel, along with the title of the panel, and a list of all participants/authors (names, affiliations and emails), no more than 250 words.

Roundtable (open discussion between participants - min. 3 - led by a chair around a topic)

  • Organizer(s): Submit an abstract of the theme of the roundtable, along with the title of the roundtable, and a list of all participants (names, affiliations and emails), no more than 250 words.

Book presentation (open session where the author introduces their book to the audience)

  • Organizer(s): Submit an abstract of the book, including its title, and a list of all participants (names, affiliations and emails), no more than 250 words.

***Submissions can be made under the "Submit Abstracts" tab of the WSSA conference website. Please select "Association for Borderlands Studies" as the Section***

Important information:

To attend the conference, you are required to:

1. Pay your ABS Membership at: https://absborderlands.org/membership/

2. Register for the conference AND pay the fee at: https://wssaconference.com/

The conference will run from April 2-5, 2025, and it is anticipated that the conference program will be entirely in-person. However, we recognize that not all members may be able to attend in-person. For those who cannot make it to Seattle and would still like an opportunity to present to our border studies community, please email [email protected] so that we can gauge the interest in a virtual alternative.

2025 ABS Scientific Program Committee

  • Laurie Trautman, ABS President-elect & Program Chair/Coordinator (Western Washington University, US)
  • Anna Casaglia, ABS President (University of Trento, IT)
  • Xavier Oliveras, Vice President, (Colegia de la Frontera Norte, Matamoros, Tamaulipas, MX)
  • Daniel Covarrubias, ABS Executive Secretary & Treasurer (Texas A&M International University, US)
  • Francisco Lara-Valencia, ABS Board member (Arizona State University, US)
  • Pablo Wong Gonzáles, ABS Board member (Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo, MX)
  • Samuel Okunade, ABS Board Member, (University of Pretoria, ZA)
  • Andréanne Bissonnette, ABS Board Member, (Western Washington University, US)
  • Jamie Ferrill, (Charles Sturt University, AU)
  • Emmanuel Brunet-Jailly, (University of Victoria, CA)
  • Jennifer Bettis, (Western Washington University, US)

For any inquiries about this call, please contact the Program Chair at:

[email protected]

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