2018 Undergraduate Essay Competition

Undergraduate Essay Competition

Borders and Borderlands

The Ray Browne Conference on Cultural and Critical Studies

April 6-8, 2018

Bowling Green State University

Bowling Green, Ohio

Borders are meant to separate. Issues of power arise when that separation creates or exploits a marginalized “other.” Recent debates across the US and the world illustrate the importance of borders to establish and protect concepts of nationalism and safety; the plan for a “transparent” wall on the southern border of the United States, the refugee crisis which led to the limit of free movement in Europe, and the ethnic cleansing in Myanmar are all examples of the rise of xenophobia and global humanitarian crises.

Through examination of cultural representations, treatments, and uses of borders in the arts and social justice movements, we can understand ourselves, our futures, and our relation to one another and to ourselves. The tasks of defining and dismantling concepts of borders have never been more important. Through multiple theoretical lenses and the exploration of popular culture, we can take a critical look at how and why borders, borderlands, and their usefulness as a means of engaging with intersectional identities are emerging as vital areas of study.

We welcome papers from undergraduate students including but not limited to the following subject areas:

·         Global Borderlands

·         Refugee Crises

·         Media (film, television, video games, music and music videos, news, comic books, literature, social media, fan fiction, humor) 

·         Imagination and Representation

·         Alternative Time (dystopian futures, alternative presents, apocalypse narratives, time travel narratives)

·         Science Fiction (technology, humanity, the Uncanny Valley, cyborg liminality, artificial intelligence)

·         Material and Visual Culture; and Fashion (trends, vintage, historical styles)

·         Politics (rhetoric, ideology, policy) 

·         Popular Culture (representations of borderlands in film, television, and popular fiction) 

·         Gender and Sexual Identity (binary and non-binary conceptions of gender and sexuality) 

·         Race and Ethnicity (multi-ethnic identities, immigration) 

·         Disability Studies (neurological spectrums and other binary and non-binary borders) 

·         Digital Humanities

·         Spirituality and Religious Studies

Rules and Guidelines for The Ray Browne Conference on Cultural and Critical Studies Undergraduate Paper Competition Submission

·         The undergraduate paper length must be between 5-7 pages double-spaced

·         All undergraduate submissions must have at least three academic sources

·         All submissions must have a title

·         You may use any citation style you wish, though it must be consistent throughout the paper including proper references

·         Papers should generally fit the theme of the conference, and/or at least one of the subject areas listed

·         Papers written as a class assignment are eligible and welcome

·         Include a cover page with the following information:

o   Your name

o   The date you have submitted

o   Your institution and major

o   Your academic year

o   An email where you can be best reached

·         Remove ALL identifiable information from the paper itself

·         Papers will be judged on the following categories

o   Quality of thesis

o   Quality of supporting evidence

o   Quality of writing

o   Connection to the theme of the conference.

·         The winner will receive a $50 Amazon gift card.

·         Submissions must be sent in by March 21^st .

·         Email your paper submission as a Word Document (.docx) to aldricd@bgsu.edu with the subject heading: Ray Browne Undergraduate Paper Competition, and your name.

o   (ex. Ray Browne Undergraduate Competition Jane Smith)

Any questions can be submitted to the email address aldricd@bgsu.edu

Back to the main conference page