RGS-IBG annual conference, Aug. 31st – Sept. 3rd, 2021
CfP for a session
Exploring borders with Zoom and Co.? The new virtuality of border research
Session organisers: Kristine Beurskens1, Judith Miggelbrink2 and Nona Renner1
1Leibniz-Institute for Regional Geography, Leipzig, Germany
2Technical University Dresden, Germany
“Very unique concerns arise along tension-laden international borders and because of them, researchers find themselves increasingly navigating uncharted terrains.” (O’Leary et al 2013, p.1)
With the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the field for border researchers took a whole new direction. With increasing travel restrictions, quarantine regulations and in the end, border closures, not only the object of study in many cases underwent substantial changes, but also getting to borders and moving across was mostly made impossible.
In parallel to emerging debates on the impact of COVID-19 on bordering processes, many border researchers worldwide had to deal with these changes in their current research. Personal exchanges in the field, close observations, go-alongs and all other kinds of interactive forms of researching came to a halt. Soon enough the floor went open for virtual methods. Sometimes alternatives were adopted in trying to finish what had begun in other modes, sometimes new research plans were developed altogether. But what does this do to border research as we know it?
With this session we aim to engage in a debate on research on bordering processes in pandemic times.
– How did our border research methods change with the pandemic times?
– How do the changed field and the pandemic situation interact with our perceptions, the creation of knowledge, the exploration of bordering processes?
– How do we do border research, if half of the field is suddenly unreachable or complicated to explore?
– What consequences does the shift in methods, and the related involuntary creation of combined methods approaches have, especially regarding the interpretation and analysis of data?
– Are there also benefits in applying new/virtual approaches to borders?
– What does the pandemic do with borderlands and its inhabitants and how does this affect our research? What new aspects of sensibility are necessary in approaching borderland inhabitants in these times?
– In what way is our positioning as researchers of borders changing under the current situation?
For this session, we invite contributions with various perspectives and from all points of the research process – be it first considerations of alternative methods, work-in-progress or more experienced contributions on virtual border research.
Please send abstracts (max. 250 words) by Feb. 28 th 2021 to Kristine Beurskens (k_beurskens@leibniz-ifl.de), Judith Miggelbrink (judith.miggelbrink@tu-dresden.de) and Nona Renner (n_renner@leibniz-ifl.de) and we will get back to you until March 5th 2021 the latest, so you will still have time to meet the general deadline on March 12th 2021 in case we cannot accommodate your paper in our session.