Migration Museum
LG / 2019
Organized by Syracuse University London
Who am “I” in different spaces? What does it mean to cross a border? What is “home” when you are “away”? Who controls the in-between? How can I use my privilege to effect change? These are key questions for global thinking, through which we challenge the idea of and power behind “borders” – both physical and ideological. Thirty-one students were asked to consider these issues in January 2019 as they launched their semesters abroad by participating in a prequel Signature Seminar. The GEO304 class on “Sustainability and Environmental Justice in Europe” examined how the actions of individuals and governments in one part of the world drastically affect the lives of people across the globe through environmental change, transboundary pollution, and supply chains. “Borders in Flux: Identities and Conflict in Ireland” took students on a journey of exploration around politics, historical narratives, and nationhood. While investigating radically different topics and landscapes, both groups encountered similar themes of power, control, and complex interactions between local and global.
On Tuesday 5 March 2019, Seminar students and their colleagues presented their encounters with borders, identities, and change at a special evening in partnership with the Migration Museum. “Questioning Borders” was a celebration of student experience, a commentary on power and politics in the contemporary UK, and a call to action about how we as individuals can make a difference. View website︎︎︎