Digital and Transnational Stories Across Tunisian Borders

Welcome to our event where we explore the intersection of digital technology and transnationalism in the Tunisia borderland. Join us at the University of Westminster - Little Titchfield Street Campus for a day filled with insightful discussions, interactive workshops, and networking opportunities. Learn from experts in the field and gain a deeper understanding of the impact of digital tools on transnational communities in Tunisia. Don't miss out on this unique opportunity, while we celebrate our upcoming Double Special Issue. See you there!

PROGRAMME

In Transit: Mapping Digital and Transnational Narratives across Tunisian Borderlands

Double Special Issue Pre-Launch

Wednesday 10 September 2025

University of Westminster, Little Titchefiled Steet, LG.08

9:30 – 10:00 | Registration and Coffee

10:00 – 10:30 | Opening Remarks by Editors

Principal Editor of Crossings: Journal of Migration and Culture: Parvati Nair (Queen Mary University)

Editors of Double Special Issue In Transit: Amal Hiliou (University of Tunis El-Manar), Federica Mazzara (University of Westminster), Samira Mechri (University of Tunis El-Manar), Khaoula Zitouni (University of Manouba, Tunis)

10:30 – 11:30 | Presentations from the Special Issue Contributors – Part 1: The Digital as Medium and Method

Federica Mazzara, Amal Hlioui, Khaoula Zitouni, Ida Saidani, Imene Gannouni Khemiri

11:30 – 12:45 | Presentations from the Special Issue Contributors – Part 2: Transnational Narratives Through Transdisciplinary Lenses

Germana Vinciguerra, Samira Mechri, Racha Sallemi, Alma Hafsi & Even Loarer, Soumaya Belhadj & Soussen Jbili

12:45 – 13:45 | Lunch Break

13:45 – 14:45 | Keynote Talk, Wael Garnaoui (University of Sousse, Tunisia)

Borders and Immobility in Tunisia: Disintegration of Social Bonds and Subjective Alienation

Chair: Rim Triki (University of Tuni El-Manar)

This talk explores the impact of border policies on Tunisian society through a historical and anthropological lens, tracing their evolution from the colonial period to the present. By analysing successive reconfigurations of borders (colonial, post-independence, and neoliberal) it highlights how mobility restrictions not only shape geopolitical dynamics but also erode social ties, both between and within communities. These politics of immobilisation undermine Tunisia’s national project of state-building, weaken collective solidarities, fuel identity-based withdrawal, and contribute to psychic alienation among individuals deprived of movement. Drawing on life stories, clinical insights, and Fanonian perspectives, the communication examines borders not merely as material barriers but as subjective mechanisms of suffering, fragmentation, and even ‘desubjectivation’.

14:45 – 16:00 | The Long Table: a democratic forum for public discussion and creative responses to conventional and colonial hierarchies around the topic of illegalised migration and ways forwards.

Chair: Federica Mazzara (University of Westminster)

16:00 –16:15 | Closing Remarks

16:15 – 17:00 | Light Refreshments

For more information please email the organiser: Dr Federica Mazzara f.mazzara@westminster.ac.uk

Cover Photo: Racha Sallemi ©