Four Days of Engaging Discussions and Decentring Perspectives

The common conference on "liminality", organized jointly by the IRTGs Diversity and Entre Espacios, took place in Trier from 10 to 13 June 2015. Doctoral and associated researchers from Berlin, Potsdam, Mexico-City, Trier, Saarbrücken, and Nantes put the concept of “liminality” to the test of the empirical material they have collected, and discussed their results with their peers. In three panels on liminal sciences, liminal spaces and liminal times, doctoral researchers asked whether and in how far “liminality” opens new perspectives on complex practices, narratives and political processes in contexts of transnational entanglement. The presentations mirrored the empirical richness of the material collected as well as the creative and critical theoretical examination of the contested concept of “liminality”.

Reflecting upon future research in both International Research Training Groups, participants highlighted the importance of decentring their respective geographical and disciplinary perspectives. By shifting the position from which we observe our empirical objects, new insights can be gained in the areas investigated. The common conference underlined that concepts related to “liminality” like space and identity are fluid and relational, rather than static and fixed. It furthermore showed that comparative and multifocal perspectives generate fruitful new research questions and results.

The publication of an edited volume based on the conference is in preparation.

For more information on the conference, please refer to interviews published with the organisers (http://irtg-diversity.com/index.php?page=now-and-upcoming&article=108) and Ursula Lehmkuhl, the spokesperson for the IRTG Diversity in Trier (http://irtg-diversity.com/index.php?page=now-and-upcoming&article=111) as well as to the conference press release (http://irtg-diversity.com/index.php?page=now-and-upcoming&article=107).

(Photo copyright: Stephanie Brewster)