Beyond the Border

“The resources invested in protecting the borders if put to use to uplift humanity then we could give all humans of the world all the happiness they require.”

― Abhijit Naskar, 2018

This blog is dedicated to our understanding and interpretations of the borders which separate humanity. When we observe the reality of the world we live in, it is clear that a border is not solely a line separating one country from another (Dictionary.com, 2019). A border can be social, political, technological or downright fictional. Some borders are ignored, others are worshipped.

 

 

As Brexit creeps upon us (42 days and counting!), the threats of a hard border in Northern Ireland are heating up. As this post is being written, the Venezuelan people risk starvation due to a standoff that is preventing humanitarian aid crossing into their country (VICE News, 2019). With controversy mounting in the political arenas of the world, we will explore effects of information systems on these boundaries between countries (Dictionary.com, 2019).  But we will not stop there.

We want to expand this notion and explore the borders that separate social classes, gender, access to information, languages, economic progression and more. We will question how technology has shaped division in the past and how advancements are likely to impact borders in the future.

Our blog will break down borders. Not in a literal sense, we do not plan to destruct Trump’s wall. In a sense that we will interpret borders to mean more than the line that separates countries, but a line that can be artificial, even invisible, yet very powerful.

 

References

Aljazeera.com. (2019). Migrants at the US-Mexico border: Overcoming walls and prejudice. [online] Available at: https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/talktojazeera/inthefield/2019/01/migrants-mexico-border-overcoming-walls-prejudice-190131212005985.html [Accessed 15 Feb. 2019].

Dictionary.com. (2019). the definition of border. [online] Available at: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/border [Accessed 15 Feb. 2019].

Marke, M., Gould, S. and Kiersz, A. (2019). As the government shutdown over Trump’s border wall rages, a journey along the entire 1,933-mile US-Mexico border shows the monumental task of securing it. [online] Business Insider. Available at: https://www.businessinsider.com/us-mexico-border-wall-photos-maps-2018-5?r=US&IR=T [Accessed 15 Feb. 2019].

Naskar, A. (2018). Fabric Of Humanity. Independently published.

Valverde, M. (2019). Updated – Trump-O-Meter: Build a wall, and make Mexico pay for it. [online] PolitiFact. Available at: https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/trumpometer/promise/1397/build-wall-and-make-mexico-pay-it/ [Accessed 15 Feb. 2019].

VICE News. (2019). The aid standoff at the Venezuelan border with Colombia is a power play. Neither side is budging.. [online] Available at: https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/wjmxdn/the-aid-standoff-at-the-venezuelan-border-with-colombia-is-a-power-play-neither-side-is-budging [Accessed 15 Feb. 2019].