A special public forum being held here today will be a perfect opportunity for those with an interest in politics, law and culture to map out new directions for studying how the border affects cities like Windsor and Detroit.

Borders in Globalization: Bridging Politics, Law, and Culture brings together three prominent scholars on border issues from Canada and the U.S. for an open-to-the-public discussion bridging political, legal, and cultural dimensions of contemporary and future border studies.

“This will be a great way to think about collaborative research projects as we move forward,” said co-organizer and visual arts professor Mike Darroch. “We want to create a conversation about what borders might look like, and provide the university with direction for program development and research initiatives regarding border studies. Thinking about the Detroit-Windsor border should make for a very interesting conversation.”

The keynote speakers include:

• Emmanuel Brunet-Jailly is associate professor in the school of public administration at the University of Victoria and director of the SSHRC partnership grant borders in globalization. He is also co-director of the local government institute, director of the European studies program and European Union Center of Excellence, and Jean Monnet chair in EU border and urban region policies.
• Victor Konrad is adjunct research professor in geography and environmental studies at Carleton University and co-director of the SSHRC partnership grant borders in globalization. He was the founding executive director of the Fulbright program between Canada and the U.S. from 1990 to 2002.
• Stephen Vogel is professor of architecture at the University of Detroit-Mercy and a senior principal of the Detroit Collaborative Design Center. He was dean of architecture at UDM from 1993 to 2011.

The event, co-sponsored by the IN/TERMINUS Creative Research Collective, the Transnational Law and Justice Network, and the Cross-Border Institute, will be held today from 12-2:30 p.m. in St. Paul’s Hall at Canterbury College, 2500 University Avenue West.

Registration is not required, and all are welcome.