The first Border Studies seminar on the theme of "Spatial, social and linguistic borders", which took place under the responsibility of Grégory Hamez, was organised by the University of Lorraine. It took place on 11 and 12 June 2018 in the Abbey of the Premonstratensians of Pont-à-Mousson and brought together about 40 researchers on the borders of the Greater Region and beyond.
The first day placed Border Studies, as a common field of activity, at the forefront. Interest in borders and research on border areas was addressed from various disciplinary angles: geography (by Stéphane Anglès, geographer of the University of Lorraine), law (by Florence N'Diaye, lawyer of the University of the Saarland), economics (by Rachid Belkacem, economist of the University of Lorraine), cultural studies (by Astrid Fellner, Americanist of the University of the Saarland) took place.Thierry Ramadier Director of CNRS research in environmental psychology, author of numerous studies on a psychological approach, was the invited researcher to offer new disciplinary perspectives to the UniGr-CBS network.
After that, the UniGR-CBS working groups (GT Bordertextures, GT Land Use Planning, GT Training and Employment, GT GRETI) reported on the progress of their activities. Grégory Hamez's assessment on "interdisciplinarity or transdisciplinarity" then rounded off the first day.
On the second day, the UniGR-Center for Border Studies (UniGR-CBS) project was honoured. Here too, advances in the project areas (research, mobility, education, society, space) could be presented individually; just as subsequent objectives, planning and scenarios could be specified together. An assessment of the first Border Studies seminar and the preparatory discussion of the next four seminars (2018-2020) concluded the two-day working meeting.
Contact:
Grégory Hamez, Université de Lorraine, gregory.hamez@univ-lorraine.fr
Kheira Oudina, Université de Lorraine, kheira.oudina@univ-lorraine.fr