On the 20th May, and in the framework of Prof. Kevin Smets’ ERC Reel Borders, we are organizing a public lecture titled "The Aesthetics of Subversion: Resistance at the Borders." This talk will explore the intersection of politics and aesthetics, with a focus on border art and visual production. The lecture will be delivered by Federica Mazzara, a cultural studies scholar from Westminster and a contributor to Minor Keywords of Political Theory, a recently published yet widely referenced text in critical border studies.
The lecture will take place on May 20th from 10 AM to 12 PM at VUB, in Pleinlaan 5, Room 4.21.
Program
10:00 AM – Opening RemarksProf. Kevin Smets |
10:15 AM – Public LectureDr. Federica Mazzara |
11:15 AM – DiscussionA discussion with researchers on the themes of activism, art and border resistance. |
12:00 PM – Closing RemarksEnd of the session |
About Federica Mazzara
Federica Mazzara’s research critically engages with cultural practices in contemporary migration debates. She is the author of Reframing Migration: Lampedusa, Border Spectacle, and Aesthetics of Subversion (Peter Lang, 2019), which examines how activist and artistic expressions challenge dominant migration narratives and foster political dissent. Currently, she is working on Mocking the Border: Carnivalesque Resistance in Times of Migration. She contributed to the collective writing project Minor Keywords of Political Theory: Migration as a Critical Standpoint, a key work in critical migration studies and the autonomy of migration. Federica serves as the review editor for Crossings: Journal of Migration and Culture.