Borders and bordos: Greater Mexican Studies at the Crossroads of the 21st Century
A unique academic space where sociolinguists come together with cultural, literary and film scholars to collectively address historical and current issues in Mexican studies, this conference seeks to construct bridges across the usually-divided disciplines of linguistics and cultural/literary studies. In doing so, we are pushed to consider the many ways in which borders shape our current geopolitical realities, material borders cutting across land as much as ideological borders of race, gender, sexuality, and other cultural formations. How do the concept and reality of borders inform and shape both our research and pedagogy? How do we, as both knowledge-producers and educators, respond to the Border? For more thoughts on the borders and bordos, click here.
Research interests incorporating bilingualism and biculturalism as well as multilingualism and multiculturalism, Mexican/Mexican-American sociolinguistics and sociocultural linguistics, linguistic anthropology, critical language and literary studies, border identities, linguistic identities, language ideologies, politics of language education, transnational cultural production and translanguaging phenomena, raciolinguistics as the normalization of language and race as an essential component of power and control in linguistic and cultural production, and similar and other complementary themes and topics are suggested.
As a uniquely multidisciplinary gathering, this conference will have a structure designed to foment inter- and extra- disciplinary dialogue and engage with artistic performances directly. Presenters will have three participation options: two-day seminars, presentation panels, and pedagogical workshops. The participants must choose one of the three formats when they submit their abstract or panel proposals. Click here for more information
Themes and topics:
We are particularly, but by no means exclusively, interested in papers or panels that explore, address, debate, question and engage with the following theme
- Geopolitical borders and their language-scapes
- Bodies in transit
- Unfixed identities
- Gender and sexual borders, boundaries and identities
- Cultural articulations across national borders
- Sounds and musical bridges
- Bi and multilingualism
- Bi and multiculturalism
- Race and borders
- Mexican/Mexican-American sociolinguistics and sociocultural linguistics
- Ethnoracial identities in border spaces
- Transnational film and cultural production
- Literary, film and cultural representations of border
- Literary, film and cultural representations of migration
We will also consider papers or panels that explore other themes in Mexican, Mexican-American, and Greater Mexican literature, culture and languages and their teaching.
Submission of pre-arranged panels, particularly those across disciplines, is greatly encouraged. A combination of literature, culture and linguistics will especially considered.
Papers should be presented in either Spanish or English. Panel presentations are limited to no more than 15 minutes (8 pages double-spaced) per person. If you are interested in reading an original paper, please submit a 300 word abstract electronically by the deadline of February 1, 2020. Proposals should be submitted online.
The conference will be held in Spanish, English, Spanglish and any variation of the above. We encourage participants to consider the particular politics of language characteristics of Greater Mexico and its borders.
The selection committee will respond to all proposals by mid-February 2020.