Towards a New Agenda for Border Wall Studies

Towards a New Agenda for Border Wall Studies

International conference organized by Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University in Fez in collaboration with UEF and UQAM
13-16 February 2024, Fez, Morocco

The Political Studies and Public Law Laboratory at Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University in Fez (USMBA) in collaboration with the Center for Geopolitical Studies – Raoul-Dandurand Chair at the University of Québec at Montréal (UQAM) and the University of Eastern Finland is organizing an event entitled "Towards a new agenda for border wall studies", to be held in Fez from 13-16 February 2024. 

The aim of this event is to substantially rethink the acceleration of border fortification and its impact, by decentring the analysis hitherto produced essentially in the North. This conference will offer a unique and unprecedented space for in-depth discussions around the renewal of border wall studies to foster the establishment of an inclusive, innovative and multidisciplinary research network. The main objective is to improve our understanding of border walls in a national and regional context, 1) by pooling the expertise of the researchers brought together, 2) by using recent scientific production, 3) and above all, by mobilizing multiscalar analysis in an innovative way 4) by taking advantage of postcolonial readings to redefine the very analysis of the fortification process. The discussion will focus on four themes: 1) contemporary border dynamics; 2) walled borders in national and international contexts; 3) multiscalar analysis of the wall in South-North terms; and 4) walls in a decolonial context. The particular objective of this conference is to lay the foundations for a new agenda of border wall studies that can benefit the border studies community as a whole. It is also about helping to forge closer links between researchers from distinct geographical areas that tend to coexist but rarely cross paths, and to benefit fully from these exchanges.

Organizers/Scientific Committee

Said Saddiki, USMBA
Elisabeth Vallet, UQAM
Jussi Laine, UEF
Irasema Coronado, ASU
Mohamed Bouzlafa, USMBA
Rachid El-Marzguioui, USMBA 

Deadline for abstract submission: 15 Sept 2023

Proposal: Please include the following information (300 words):

• Name of authors/contributors;
• Institutional affiliations, titles;
• Email address;
• Title of the paper;
• Abstract: Subject, empirical frame, analytical approach, theme. 

Conference Dates and Deadlines

• 15 Sept 2023: Deadline for submitting abstracts and proposals
• 15 Oct 2023: Proposals selection and notification sent to presenters
• 5 January 2024: Submission of papers to discussants
• 13-16 Feb 2024: Conference to be held in Fez, Morocco 

Send your proposals via e-mail in Word format to the organizers at: BordersandWalls@gmail.com 

Languages: Proposals can be submitted in English, French and Arabic. The conference will be held in English, French and Arabic.

Fields: Political Science, Geography, Anthropology, Sociology, Law, Economics, Art, Design, Biology, Environmental Studies, Area Studies, Gender Studies, Zoology, Medical studies (this list is intended to be suggestive rather than inclusive).