Migration is one of the most relevant phenomena of contemporary times and thus a prominent topic of research in the humanities and the social sciences in recent years. Migration is a result among other reasons of political persecution, economical pressures, or the pursuit of opportunities. The inquiry into aspects of migration is to study the history of human experiences from a variety of perspectives such as ethnicity, race, nation, and society.

The Center for the Humanities at National Sun Yat-sen University conducts and promotes research on migration, race, and ethnicity and its 2009 conference Mapping the World: Migration and Border-crossing will be held on 17-18 October.

Topics of interest for the conference include migration and cityscapes; border and border crossing; the politics of frontiers; cultural assimilation and the politics of language; transformations of languages and dialects; language and nationhood; representations of the (im)migrant in literature and media; (im)migration and diaspora; travel and exploration; maritime culture, literature, and the arts; and nationalism, post-nationalism, and the (im)migrant.

Abstracts of 200 words in English or Chinese with the author's bioprofile are invited by 25 February 2009 to Professor I-Chun Wang at chsc705@gmail.com