FLL Hosts Panel on “Borders, Migrations, and Transnational Flows”
March 3, 2016鈥擜s the opening event for the the 2016 book fair, the (FLL) hosted the panel discussion 鈥淏orders, Migrations, and Transnational Flows鈥� on Monday, February 29. The event featured speakers from several FLL departments: Professors (Department of French), (Department of Italian), (Department of Anthropology), (Department of Italian), and current Max Kade Writer-in-Residence .
Emerging from diverse disciplinary contexts (film studies, literary studies, cultural anthropology, and creative writing), each panelist shared innovative insights from their current work related to migration in Europe and the United States.
Following introductions by FLL Convenor (Department of German), Sylvie Durmelat presented findings from her recently translated volume, (the University of Nebraska Press; co-edited with Vinay Swamy). The book examines the different ways in which Maghrebi films exemplify integration while also participating in and critiquing integration in France. According to Durmelat, not only do these films recast Maghrebi immigration, they also challenge national memory narratives and static notions of ethnicity.
Nicoletta Pireddu continued the discussion with an introduction to the work of Italian writer and European intellectual Claudio Magris from her book, (Palgrave Macmillan). In particular, she argues, Magris鈥檚 literature provides an opportunity to reflect upon the possibility of European consciousness, the idea of frontiers, and the important role of narratives in challenging Eurocentrism while exploring common values and issues of concern that transcend national borders.
Next, Susan Terrio turned the audience鈥檚 attention to the U.S.-Mexican border and the difficult experiences facing unaccompanied minors detained in federal facilities. Her book, 听(University of California Press), collects multiple interviews and observations of legal proceedings between 2009 and 2012 to shed light on the reasons motivating an ever-growing number of children to cross the border, their often harrowing experiences during the journey and within federal facilities in the U.S., as well as a critical evaluation of this federal system that provides neither appointed legal representation nor child advocates to this vulnerable population.
The panel concluded with Maxi Obexer, who described her new theatrical production on 鈥渋llegal helpers鈥� (Illegale Helfer), performed in German theaters and as a radio play. Her project sheds light on people from different professional, age, and social strata of society who are engaged in helping migrants without legal status, and who do so beyond the confines of the law. She explores the diverse motivations and activities of these helpers through interviews with participants and depicts an example of existing, yet widely unnoticed, activism whose activities help those in need, but are considered unlawful.
As Anna De Fina pointed out in her commentary, in different ways and through the examination of different media, the four panelists stimulated consideration of contemporary migration issues within diverse socio-cultural contexts, in each case encouraging both critical reflection and empathy.
The presentations concluded with a reception with remarks from Dean Gillis and a book fair to celebrate these recent publications, as well as those of more than twenty additional FLL faculty, showcasing a wealth of humanities and linguistics scholarship at Georgetown 海角论坛 within diverse disciplinary contexts.
鈥擬eghan O鈥橠ea, Department of German