Abstracts due November 1, 2009
Papers due January 15, 2010

Topographies of Transnationalism examines the political discourses of transnational identity, affiliation, and ethics that emerged and evolved during the Cold War in Latin America. It seeks to understand the discursive framing of projects of humanitarian aid and intervention, from the work of transnational solidarity groups, civil society organizations, and alliance networks, to grassroots and international NGO work following, particularly following periods of dictatorship and war. This collection of essays seeks to bring together articles from a variety of disciplines to investigate the way in which transnationalism, as an emergent set of institutions, processes, and interrelations has fostered affinities and social ties that seemingly transcend the borders of nation, race, and ethnicity, specifically in terms of the construction of A) political identities, B) humanitarianism, and C) the cross-cultural empathy.

Because the study of transnational institutions and processes relies heavily on the examination of the circulation of ideas between places often very distant and disparate, this project approaches its subject from a variety of methodological and theoretical perspectives. For postcolonial and cultural theorists, and those influenced by their thought throughout the humanities and social sciences, the study of the history and development of solidarity movements, human rights organizations, citizenship advocacy, and humanitarianism has taken on a number of approaches and has advanced a variety of critical perspectives. This volume examines new dialectical spaces and understandings that cut-across these concerns and make intelligible the way they inform each other, setting these approaches within a critical geography.

The projected volume is anticipated to not only advance interdisciplinary research on citizenship, human rights, and solidarity networks by enhancing the international exchange of ideas and research methodologies, but also to move forward the field of transnational history and culture studies by setting out a critical topography of theory. These contributions will in turn enable more comprehensive narratives and understandings of the Cold War while simultaneously illuminating the complex linkages, networks, and actors of the transnational Global South.

Abstracts for proposed articles should be sent to jessica.stites-mor@ubc.ca by November 1st, 2009. Abstracts should be no longer than 3 pages, but should be sufficiently detailed to give a sense of how the paper would fit into the broader themes of the work. Full articles will be requested January 15th, 2010, in English. Papers should be 8,000 to 10,000 words in length, and approximately 15 papers will be included in the volume. As this is intended to be a collection for publication with a scholarly press, we request that submissions not be currently under consideration for publication elsewhere or previously published. Publication submission date for edited articles is anticipated to be April 30th, 2010.