Invisible, but they define our world. Borders are the lines that limit us as we live our lives and as we increasingly feel the frictions they cause, it brought us to wonder: where did these things comes from anyway? A look back through history shows that what we take for granted may in fact be ridiculous, that lines on a map can be a world changing invention, and that things that feel as old as civilization may have surprisingly recent origins. Join us this week as we draw a line in the sand and begin working towards tearing down the myths, preconceptions, and assumptions we share about the lines that divide us.

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Chapters

06:58 Evolution of Border Concepts

37:38 Modern Map Origins

44:52 The Question of National Identity

57:44 Freeports and Free Flowing Capital

1:04:13 UK Home Office Incompetence

1:17:48 Indigenous People on the Margins

1:24:58 Who moves anyway?

1:29:09 The C Word

1:32:12 No Man's Land

Music

Imidiwan MaTenam from Tassili (2011) by Tinariwen

Lyrics

What have you got to say, my friends About this painful time we're living through? You've left this desert where you say you were born, You've gone and abandoned it We live in ignorance and it holds all the power The desert is jealous and its men are strong While it's drying up, green lands exist elsewhere We live in ignorance And it holds all the power

Maps

Sources

Journal article on mapping and borders: Mapping the Sovereign State: Technology, Authority, and Systemic Change

Wikipedia entries:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stefan_Zweig

@book{blaeu_1665, title={Atlas Maior}, publisher={Joan Blaeu}, author={Blaeu, Joan}, year={1665}} @book{dumézil georges_1970, title={Archaic Roman religion}, volume={1}, publisher={U. of Chicago P.}, author={Dumézil Georges}, year={1970}} @book{homans_2014, place={Place of publication not identified}, title={English villagers of the thirteenth century}, publisher={Harvard Univ Press}, author={HOMANS, GEORGE CASPAR.}, year={2014}} @book{roffe_2015, place={Woodbridge}, title={Decoding Domesday}, publisher={The Boydell Press}, author={Roffe, David}, year={2015}} @misc{berczeller_2004, title={Paul Berczeller on The man who lost his past}, url={https://www.theguardian.com/film/2004/sep/06/features.features11}, journal={The Guardian}, publisher={Guardian News and Media}, author={Berczeller, Paul}, year={2004}, month={Sep}} @misc{ACLU_2017, title={ACLU Factsheet on Customs and Border Protection’s 100-Mile Zone}, url={https://www.aclu.org/other/aclu-factsheet-customs-and-border-protections-100-mile-zone}, journal={American Civil Liberties Union}, author={ACLU}, year={2017} } @misc{Bowley_Carvajal_2016, title={One of the World’s Greatest Art Collections Hides Behind This Fence}, url={https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/29/arts/design/one-of-the-worlds-greatest-art-collections-hides-behind-this-fence.html}, journal={The New York Times}, author={Bowley, Graham and Carvajal, Doreen}, year={2016}, month={May} } @article{Branch_2011, title={Mapping the Sovereign State: Technology, Authority, and Systemic Change}, volume={65}, ISSN={0020-8183}, number={1}, journal={International Organization}, author={Branch, Jordan}, year={2011}, pages={1–36} } @misc{Bui_Miller_2015, title={The Typical American Lives Only 18 Miles From Mom}, url={https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/12/24/upshot/24up-family.html, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/12/24/upshot/24up-family.html}, journal={The New York Times}, author={Bui, Quoctrung and Miller, Claire Cain}, year={2015}, month={Dec} } @misc{David Woodward_1987, title={Medieval Mappaemundi}, url={https://www.press.uchicago.edu/books/HOC/HOC_V1/HOC_VOLUME1_chapter18.pdf}, author={David Woodward}, year={1987} } @misc{Eva Aldea_2014, title={Nomads and migrants: Deleuze, Braidotti and the European Union in 2014}, url={http://www.opendemocracy.net/can-europe-make-it/eva-aldea/nomads-and-migrants-deleuze-braidotti-and-european-union-in-2014}, journal={openDemocracy}, author={Eva Aldea}, year={2014}, month={Sep} } @misc{Giulia Pines_2017, title={The Contentious History of the Passport}, url={https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/features/a-history-of-the-passport/}, journal={Travel}, author={Giulia Pines}, year={2017}, month={May} } @misc{Grierson_Marsh_2018, title={Vital immigration papers lost by UK Home Office}, url={https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/may/31/vital-immigration-papers-lost-by-uk-home-office}, journal={The Guardian}, author={Grierson, Jamie and Marsh, Sarah}, year={2018}, month={May} } @misc{Halliday_2018, title={Windrush scandal: “You don’t need that passport, they said”}, url={https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/may/25/windrush-scandal-you-dont-need-that-passport-they-said}, journal={The Guardian}, author={Halliday, Josh}, year={2018}, month={May} } @misc{Joe Myers_2016, title={Countries where you can buy citizenship}, url={https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/07/countries-selling-citizenship/}, journal={World Economic Forum}, author={Joe Myers}, year={2016}, month={Jul} } @misc{Knisely_2017, title={The 1920s Women Who Fought For the Right to Travel Under Their Own Names}, url={http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/us-passport-history-women}, journal={Atlas Obscura}, author={Knisely, Sandra}, year={2017}, month={Mar} } @article{MacKay_Levin_de Carvalho_Cavoukian_Cuthbert_2014, title={Before and after borders: The nomadic challenge to sovereign territoriality}, volume={51}, ISSN={1740-3898}, DOI={10.1057/ip.2013.24}, number={1}, journal={International Politics}, author={MacKay, Joseph and Levin, Jamie and de Carvalho, Gustavo and Cavoukian, Kristin and Cuthbert, Ross}, year={2014}, month={Jan}, pages={101–123} } @misc{Marsh_2018, title={Woman left in limbo for a decade because Home Office lost her passport}, url={https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/may/31/a-shadow-of-myself-the-home-office-lost-records-and-ruined-lives}, journal={The Guardian}, author={Marsh, Sarah}, year={2018}, month={May} } @misc{Misra_2018, title={Who Lives in the U.S. “Border Zone”? Probably, You.}, url={https://www.citylab.com/equity/2018/05/who-lives-in-border-patrols-100-mile-zone-probably-you-mapped/558275/}, journal={CityLab}, author={Misra, Tanvi}, year={2018}, month={May} } @misc{Nancy Bilyeau_2018, title={4,500-yr-old Stone Pillar Depicts History’s First Known Border Dispute}, url={https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/12/12/umma-and-lagash/}, journal={The Vintage News}, author={Nancy Bilyeau}, year={2018}, month={Dec} } @misc{Nancy Kenney_2019, title={British Museum realises “vase” is in fact an ancient mace-head displayed upside down}, url={http://theartnewspaper.com/news/british-museum-goes-belly-up}, journal={The Art Newspaper}, author={Nancy Kenney}, year={2019}, month={Jan} } @misc{National Geographic Society_2013, title={Marshallese Stick Chart}, url={http://www.nationalgeographic.org/media/micronesian-stick-chart/}, journal={National Geographic Society}, author={National Geographic Society}, year={2013}, month={Apr} } @misc{Nicholas Blanford_2016, title={Why 100-year-old borders drawn by two Europeans still define the Middle East}, url={https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2016/0516/Why-100-year-old-borders-drawn-by-two-Europeans-still-define-the-Middle-East}, journal={Christian Science Monitor}, author={Nicholas Blanford}, year={2016}, month={May} } @misc{O. A. W. Dilke_1987, title={Cartography in the Ancient World: A Conclusion}, url={https://www.press.uchicago.edu/books/HOC/HOC_V1/HOC_VOLUME1_chapter16.pdf}, journal={University of Chicago Press}, author={O. A. W. Dilke}, year={1987} } @misc{Passport Index_2019, title={The Passport Index 2019 - Explore the world of passports by country}, url={https://www.passportindex.org/}, journal={Passport Index - All the world’s passports in one place.}, author={Passport Index}, year={2019} } @misc{Robert Karrow_1987, title={Centers of Map Publishing in Europe, 1472-1600}, url={https://www.press.uchicago.edu/books/HOC/HOC_V3_Pt1/HOC_VOLUME3_Part1_chapter23.pdf}, journal={University of Chicago Press}, author={Robert Karrow}, year={1987} } @book{Starks_McCormack_Cornell_2011, place={Tucson, AZ}, title={Native Nations and U.S. Borders: Challenges to Indigenous Culture, Citizenship, and Security}, ISBN={978-1-931143-35-6}, publisher={Native Nations Institute, University of Arizona}, author={Starks, Rachel Rose and McCormack, Jen and Cornell, Stephen}, year={2011} } @misc{The Economist_2013, title={Über-warehouses for the ultra-rich}, url={https://www.economist.com/briefing/2013/11/23/uber-warehouses-for-the-ultra-rich}, journal={The Economist}, author={The Economist}, year={2013}, month={Nov} } @misc{UNHCR_2018, title={Today, at least 10 million people around the world are denied a nationality.}, url={https://www.unhcr.org/stateless-people.html}, journal={UNHCR}, author={UNHCR}, year={2018} } @book{Harley_Woodward_1987, place={Chicago}, edition={First edition}, title={The History of Cartography: Cartography in Prehistoric, Ancient and Medieval Europe and the Mediterranean, Vol. 1}, ISBN={978-0-226-31633-8}, publisher={University of Chicago Press}, author={Woodward}, year={1987}, month={May} }

Published 07-02-2019 01:11