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 UNITN Borderscapes: spaces in conflicts, symbolic places, networks of peace |
Borderscapes: spaces in conflict/symbolic places/networks of peace
"Boundaries represent the line of physical contact between states and afford opportunities for co-operation and discord" (Prescott, 1976). Working as lines which contour a juridical space, they represent a limit to State action, and to its ability to organize within its own territory. In this manner, they form separate spheres of authority and planning, shaping, as a consequence, landscapes very different from each other. "How these boundaries are used and perceived may in turn have additional impact on the landscape" (Rumley and Minghi, 1991). Indeed, they are not only lines of difference between separate landscapes but also landscapes of difference in and of themselves, zones variously demarcating separation or interaction between trans-border realities and spaces. In addition, for a word postulating a close coincidence between place and culture, boundaries are usually accepted as perimeters of discrete cultural entities, impeccably homogeneous internally and neatly dissimilar externally. Along these lines, they not only represent the limits of political structures but are also a marker for cultural identities, a symbolic place where the construction/recognition of the Self is made possible by the encounter/separation with the Other.
The focus of the conference will be on the role played by boundaries in the making of landscapes of trans-border regions.
Questions of management and planning problems connected with the issue will also be examined. Special attention will be reserved to boundaries and border regions in mountain zones. Some local experts will introduce the specific problem of the Authonomous Provinces of Trento and Bolzano as border regions.
Topics:
Borderscapes as symbolic landscapes:
. Demarcating objects and symbols
. Borderscapes in popular culture
. Teaching the concept of boundaries: bordescapes in textbooks and education
. The myth of natural boundaries
. Mountain borderscapes
Borderscapes as spaces of cultural encounters:
. Identities, sociolinguistic boundaries, education
. Minorities, territorial disputes, irredentism
. Revisiting classical models of the political geography of boundaries
Borderscapes of fluxes and communication, trans-border cooperation:
. Trans-border institutions and trans-border regions
. Governance and policy around borders
. Fluxes, gravitation areas, commercial spaces
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