Borders and Crossings
Notes for institutions interested in hosting future events
- The first of the ‘Borders and Crossings’ conferences, a series devoted to the international, interdisciplinary study of travel writing, was organised by Glenn Hooper and Tim Youngs, and held at Magee College, Derry in 1998. Travel literature was at that time far from mainstream as an area of academic research, but the intervening period has witnessed a major shift in attitudes towards the genre, with the emergence of dedicated journals, scholarly associations and other academic apparatus associated with the building of a new field.
- ‘Borders and Crossings’ has played a catalytic role in these processes as it continues to provide a forum for scholars across a range of disciplines and from a wide variety of national contexts to meet regularly, to explore an increasingly rich corpus of travel writing, and to debate its centrality to the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.
- The principal focus of the conference remains the interdisciplinary study of travel writing.
- Applications to host the conference will be approved by a panel made up of previous organizers of the event. Scheduling may depend on other proposals currently under consideration. Organizers should bear in mind the timing of other major events in the field, such as the conferences of the International Society for Travel Writing.
- Institutions wishing to host the conference should confirm they have administrative capacity and suitable resource to ensure a successful event. (Not every local organizer has managed to attract sponsors, but such sponsorship can substantially reduce the conference fee payable by attendees.)
- There is no financial resource available to support the hosting of conferences and full responsibility lies with the host institution to cover the costs of keynote speakers, receptions, publicity, etc.
- The conference is normally held across three days. The programme may include an excursion or cultural activity.
- Expressions of interest should ideally include the following information: accommodation available, both for conference sessions and the lodging of delegates; anticipated help from student (or other) volunteers before and at the conference itself; realistic prospects for obtaining sponsorship from outside bodies, e.g. your university, local, regional or national scientific institutes, publishers, booksellers, philanthropists; common transport links to the venue (including assurance that the place is reasonably accessible); local academic and touristic attractions, e.g. historic sites, museums, galleries, parks.
- The host institution is responsible for drafting and circulating the CFP, for putting in place suitable mechanisms for the selection of papers and for finalizing the programme.
- If possible, funding should be made available (through subsidy or differential pricing of registration) to ensure participation of postgraduates and unwaged delegates.
- Although several past conferences have led to the publication of proceedings or collections of essays, there is no expectation that this should be the case. Organizers wishing to publish papers will be expected to make their own arrangements to do so.
- Advice will be available if required from previous organizers of the event.
Previous conferences have been held in these locations:
Derry, 1998
Brest, 2000
Versailles, 2002
Ankara, 2003
Birmingham, 2004
Palermo, 2006
Nuoro, 2007
Melbourne, 2008
Birmingham, 2012
Liverpool, 2013
Veliko Tarnovo, 2014
Belfast, 2015
Kielce, 2016
Aberystwyth, 2017
Pula and the Brijuni Islands, 2018
Leicester 2019
Canterbury 2021
Tartu 2022
Łódź 2023
Type d'événement
Colloques