Rethinking BORDERS

Borders mark boundaries. Between one thing and another; between my land and your land; between an ‘us’ and a ‘them’. Borders are marked along soil, or printed onto maps, or firmly fixed in our minds, but they make crossing over to the other side a decision with consequences. And yet they aren’t an inherent fact of life - we created them. Does that make them any less real? Why do we give them such universal importance? As we Rethink Borders this Thursday, we try and challenge our assumptions about the lines that divide us. In our current political climate, the familiar topics of migration, nationalism, and security seem more relevant than ever, and the conclusions we move towards will have everything to do with how borders are imagined.