Drawing on both researchers’ experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic, the project brought together a group of researchers at an in-person workshop to discuss and explore approaches to researching (im)mobility, imagination and belonging at the intersection of represented, digital and physical spaces. Dr Hamdan travelled from Palestine to London to share his recent research using digital maps to explore Palestinian travel literature with his students in the context of Covid-19 related travel restrictions. This acted as the starting point for a broader discussion focused on generating ideas for a larger, collaborative research project that will explore the ways individuals move across and construct a sense of belonging at the intersection of represented, digital and physical spaces. The workshop brought together researchers with a range of cross-disciplinary expertise in areas including literature and cultural studies, postcolonial studies, digital humanities, ethnography, linguistics and migration studies. The researchers also worked across different linguistic and cultural contexts including the Middle East, China, North Africa, Europe and Latin America. Following the workshop, the researchers are working on developing a larger grant that will bridge their distinct expertise to explore the potential of cultural interventions and digital media to allow for more creative, hybrid and multivocal spatial representations that foster imaginative practices and overcome a politics of enclosure or immobility.

Conference Title

“(Im)mobility, imagination and belonging at the intersection of represented, physical and digital spaces”

Conference Country

United Kingdom

Conference Date

July 3, 2022 - July 8, 2022

Conference Sponsor

School of Advanced Study | University of London (via the British Academy)