The Borders Research Group aims to advance interdisciplinary dialogues about border regimes and the lived experience of borders through reading seminars, speaker events, and written and creative expression.
The group’s work explores diverse conceptualizations of borders: as physical spaces that monitor, manage, and limit human mobility; as bureaucratic practices and logics; and as historical formations deeply intertwined with colonialism and empire in all its forms. The research group value the work of artists, community leaders, community activists, and advocates in amplifying critical analyses of bordering practices today.
Research Areas
Our research is interdisciplinary in focus and includes various topics including:
- Borders and Sovereignty
- Gender and Migration
- Refugees and Forced Migration
- Labour Migration
- Economics of Migration
- Immigration and Refugee Law
- Undocumented Migration and Statelessness
- Citizenship
Our members’ research spans a range of topics including but not limited to: the securitization of borders, cross-border labour mobility, the mediation of gender and sexuality, the externalization of sovereignty, carceral border regimes, and resistance and political mobilization.
Coordinators
The Borders research group is co-led by Dr. Helena Zeweri, Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Dr. Nikhita Obeegadoo, Assistant Professor of Language and World Literatures.
Members
The Borders research group brings together scholars from diverse fields and is open to all CMS affiliates.
- Dr. Efrat Arbel, Associate Professor, Law
- Atreyi Bhattacharjee, Doctoral Candidate, Law
- Mahashewta Bhattacharya, Doctoral Student, Anthropology
- Dr. Alexia Bloch, Professor, Anthropology
- Maria Cervantes, Doctoral Student, Geography
- Dr. Amanda Cheong, Assistant Professor, Sociology
- Dr. Catherine Dauvergne, Professor, Law
- Aysan Dehghani, Undergraduate Student, Political Science
- Dr. Antje Ellermann, Professor, Political Science
- Abu Fakhri, Doctoral Candidate, Sociology
- Dr. Benjamin Goold, Professor, Law
- Dr. Asha Kaushal, Associate Professor, Political Science
- Dr. Kevin Lujan-Lee, Postdoctoral Fellow, Political Science
- Dr. Neda Maghbouleh, Associate Professor, Sociology
- Dr. Renisa Mawani, Professor, Sociology
- Dr. Sofia Noori, Assistant Professor, Educational Studies
- Dr. Nikhita Obeegadoo, Assistant Professor, Language and World Literatures
- Cindy Robin, Doctoral Candidate, Political Science
- Lorenia Salgado-Leos, Doctoral Candidate, French, Hispanic, and Italian Studies
- Dr. Alessandra Santos, Associate Professor, Theatre & Film
- Dr. Elif Sari, Assistant Professor, Anthropology
- Dr. Sandra Schinnerl, Postdoctoral Fellow, UBC Centre for Migration Studies
- Claudia Serrano, Doctoral Student, Political Science
- Dr. Sara Shneiderman, Associate Professor, Anthropology and Public Policy and Global Affairs
- Dr. Jessica Templeman, Postdoctoral Fellow, Law
- Lynn Weaver, Graduate Student, International Development
- Caitlyn Yates, Doctoral Candidate, Anthropology
- Lin Zeng, Master's Student, Anthropology
- Dr. Helena Zeweri, Assistant Professor, Anthropology
Activities
Read The Poetics and Politics of Borders: An Archive, a Zine from the Borders Research Group.
Get in touch
Connect with CMS if you have questions about the research group or are interested in joining.