The Gender of Borders
The border as a subject of study has given rise to numerous interdisciplinary works producing rich analyses of the material, social and discursive forms produced by migration control. Although half of the people crossing borders are women, few studies have incorporated a gender perspective. Yet gender is an analytical tool that highlights different social, cultural, economic, spatial, political and legal declinations of the border. In this workshop, we will focus our attention on the gendered dynamics of the governance of mobility, without excluding the other relations of domination that
are consubstantial with gender.
In order to understand what gender can bring to the study of borders, this two-day workshop proposes to bring together doctoral students and young researchers from around the world whose work questions the social relations of domination in an intersectional way. We seek to question the specific implications of migration policies on the experience of differently gendered individuals and social groups at external and internal borders:
– How do gender relations impact migration? How do gender dynamics change
the ways in which people cross borders from one country to another? What
gendered relations of domination are woven between the different actors
operating at borders, whether they are custodians of authority, social workers,
or smugglers?
– How do migration policies govern, across borders, not only access to national
territory, but also to rights? How are these logics of control gendered? How
do these gendered borders operate to determine the inclusion or exclusion of
certain populations?
We welcome contributions that mix empirical and theoretical perspectives on these themes, regardless of the discipline from which they come (anthropology, sociology, geography, political science, law, history) and interdisciplinary approaches are welcome. We would also like to take a more decentralised approach and highlight case studies from outside Europe, so we particularly encourage young researchers from outside Europe to submit proposals. Proposals for contributions may address, but are not limited to, the following themes: