Border Rules: An Abolitionist Refusal

Join us for a discussion with scholar and author Professor Kanishka Chowdhury as he delves into the themes of his latest work, "Border Rule: An Abolitionist Refusal."

This timely exploration of immigration and borders brings together experts and scholars in a conversation, navigating the layers of policies and oppositional narratives surrounding "the border." Professor Chowdhury unveils the multifaceted nature of the term "border," exposing it as more than a line of territorial control. Instead, he reveals a complex web of social relations shaped by racially differentiated colonial structures and, more recently, influenced by neoliberal modes of accumulation.

The discussion will delve into historical contexts, fostering a transformative interdisciplinary dialogue among our experts, who will critically examine the evolving dynamics at the intersection of borders, politics, and society.

This exploration spotlights the impact of borders on human mobility, identity, and global justice.

Book Description: Chowdhury’s latest book, Border Rule: An Abolitionist Refusal (2023, Palgrave Macmillan), examines both border policies and oppositional narratives of “the border” from 2011 through 2021, demonstrating that the term designates not merely a line of territorial control but also a set of social relations shaped by persistent, racially differentiated colonial structures and, more recently, by neoliberal modes of accumulation.

Panelists: 

Kanishka Chowdhury is a professor of English and American Culture and Difference at the University of St. Thomas, where he teaches courses in cultural studies, border narratives, global film, the literature of racial capitalism, and the representation of race in contemporary US film. He has also written on many of these topics, as well as on contemporary postcolonial cultures and their connections to emerging forms of citizenship and changes in neoliberal economic structures.

Maddalena Marinari teaches U.S. history at Gustavus Adolphus College. She has published extensively on immigration restriction and immigrant mobilization. She is the author of Unwanted: Italian and Jewish Mobilization Against Restrictive Immigration Laws, 1882-1965 and a co-editor of three edited volumes on different aspects of US immigration in the twentieth century. Along with Erika Lee, she has also co-edited a special issue of the Journal of American History on the hundredth anniversary of the passage of the Emergency Quota Act of 1921 and the Immigration Act of 1924. She is the president-elect of the Immigration and Ethnic History Society.

Ryan Pérez is a dynamic leader in political campaign management, hailing from Chicago as a proud Boricua. His journey as a cultural community organizer underscores a dedication to engaging and uplifting young people and communities of color within the electoral landscape. Ryan works to bring the Latine community to the forefront of political and policy agendas. His leadership has influenced the passage of key laws in Minnesota, generating tangible legislative change.