Undergraduate and Graduate Student Conference on Migration 

Crossing Borders: Diaspora, Identity, and Belonging in the Digital Age 

The 21st century has been defined by large-scale global change driven by migration, exile, border reconfigurations, political upheaval, and shifting power dynamics – all of which have profoundly shaped debates surrounding human rights, identity, culture, and belonging. Furthermore, as digital platforms collapse geographic distance and intensify new forms of surveillance, nationalism, and exclusion, diasporic subjects must navigate complex landscapes of memory, language, race, gender, and political belonging. Questions related to these key themes are relevant not only to international or global studies but also to fields such as linguistics, medicine, environmental sciences, literary studies, cultural studies, queer studies, public health, and many others. 

This conference seeks papers and/or poster presentations that examine how identities are constructed, performed, contested, and reimagined transnationally. Moreover, we welcome interdisciplinary approaches from the humanities, social sciences, arts, and related fields, and encourage work that engages critical frameworks such as postcolonial theory, migration studies, media studies, queer and feminist theory, and critical race studies. By centering student scholarship, this conference aims to foster dialogue about the evolving meanings of home, nation, and community in an increasingly digitized and interconnected world. 

We invite both undergraduate and graduate students from diverse fields of study to discuss urgent issues surrounding borders, mobility, and migration, and we note that presentations are not limited to discourse on digital media, as “digital” here designates the aforementioned historical period rather than a specific technological apparatus. We welcome discussions from diverse theoretical and methodological perspectives, with possible topics including but not limited to: 

• Artificial Intelligence and Immigration
• Artificial Intelligence and Technologies of Surveillance
• Climate Migration and Environmental Displacement
• Cultural Representations of Migration in Film, Literature, and the Arts
• Diasporic Identities and Transnationalism
• Labor Migration, Economic Precarity, and Social Mobility
• Queer Migrations and Forced Exile
• Migration and Border Securitization in the Digital Age
• Migration and Education: Access, Barriers, and Policies
• Migration and Language: Linguistic Adaptation, Loss, and Preservation
• Migration and Public Health: Access, Exclusion, and Disparities
• Migration and Security: Terrorism, Xenophobia, and Radical Discourses
• Migration and Social Movements: Activism, Advocacy, and Resistance
• Migration Governance, Policies, and International Law
• Migration Narratives in Literature, Media, and the Arts
• (Post)Colonial Studies: Culture, Language and Mobility
• Race, Gender, Sexuality, and Intersectionality in Migration Discourses
• Refugee Crises and Humanitarian Responses
• Statelessness and the Legal Limbo of Undocumented Migrants 

Submission Information & Guidelines 

• Only current undergraduate and graduate university students are eligible to submit their abstracts for consideration.
• Abstracts should be a maximum of 300 words.
• Academic bios should be no more than 100 words.
• Accepted submissions should be individual papers. Collaborative papers are welcome, but only with fellow undergraduate students and/or graduate students.
• We welcome poster presentations, especially from undergraduate students.
• Following the conference, awards will be given to the top presentations. 

Submission Deadline: March 20, 2026 

Submit your abstract via Qualtrics: https://missouri.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8GMjRaD8Labf6QK 

For inquiries, please contact: imsistudentconference@gmail.com or IMSI’s Associate Director, Dr. Don Joseph (don.joseph@missouri.edu)