Javier Durán joins board of international borderlands studies association

Professor Javier Durán, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, has been elected Vice President of the Association for Borderlands Studies (ABS). Next year Durán will become President-elect with the responsibility of organizing the annual conference program. Two of Durán’s main goals for the organization are to promote an increase in the number of underrepresented academics from the Humanities, the Bio-Sciences and the Arts; and to galvanize institutional resources and financial support for ABS-related activities and events.

Founded in 1976 with the original emphasis on the study of the United States-Mexico borderlands region, it is the leading international scholarly association dedicated exclusively to the systematic interchange of ideas and information relating to border areas. ABS now encompasses an interdisciplinary membership of scholars at more than one hundred academic and governmental institutions, and NGOs representing the Americas, Asia, Africa and Europe. The Journal of Borderlands Studies, the organization’s refereed academic journal, presents leading research on border issues. The ABS also co-sponsors other international meetings on border topics. Recent meetings were held in Israel, Canada, and El Paso.

Professor Durán’s election highlights the centrality of global related research in the College of Humanities, and it contributes to strengthening the UA’s position as world leader in border studies.