The lecture series will examine how the dissolution of the grand divide between nature and culture, alongside with questioning anthropocentrism in the humanities and social sciences, unveils new perspectives for studying borders and bordering as a natural-cultural phenomena. This will be approached from different disciplinary angles: geography, anthropology, political sciences, biology, and more.
On December 5th and 6th, 2019 an international workshop covering a current trend in border research was held at the University of Luxembourg. The event was attended by many renowned researchers and had the goal of discussing approaches that allow for a more complex perspective on borders. The workshop was a prelude to a two-year event series with German, French, and Luxembourgish partners.
In June 2019 the Centre Georg Simmel (EHESS Paris) and the UniGR-Center for Border Studies organised a three-day workshop. Cultural specialists and social scientists from France, Germany and Luxembourg discussed the material and normative aspects of borders.
Research in the Social Sciences mainly uses the term borderscape to describe geopolitical connections. But it is proposed to extend the meaning of borderscape even further, not only relating it to borders ‘as such’, but instead in a more abstract and far-reaching way to their very conditions of their formation. The conference aimed to sound out its potential for theoretical and conceptual discussion, as well as for empirical research into border phenomena.
The "Crossing Borders - GRETI Border colloquiums" consisted of the organisation of a several two-day colloquiums (2015-2016) under the aegis of the GRETI (interdisciplinary cross-border research group). The aim was to develop, within the scope of the UniGR-Center for Border Studies, interdisciplinary perspectives on border-related issues and to generate cooperation between academics from the UniGR partner universities.
The "Border Textures" workshop consists of a series of lectures by border researchers, who work on the cultural aspects of borders. The series is less about presenting research findings than questioning the theoretical and practical research aspects of scientific cultural research into border-related issues. The workshop is open to the public and takes place at the Universities of Luxembourg and Saarland.
