Navigation auf uzh.ch
UFSP Asien und Europa
Prof. Dr. Sven Trakulhun, Prof. Dr. Andrea Riemenschnitter
Contact zones are spaces in which people that are geographically and historically separated come into contact with each other, establish ongoing relations, or clash. By spatial and social mobility some borders are overcome while others are redrawn or restructured. Contact zones are, for example, border regions between national or imperial frontiers, port cities, or colonial and non-colonial centres of international trade in Asia and Europe. They can be regarded as specific sites of transition, as „third spaces“ in which cultural and social differences are being constantly negotiated. The conference aims at investigating the historical dynamics and present figurations of both mutual exchanges and cultural conflicts prevalent in these zones.