Borders & Belonging
Migration is a complex phenomenon – for individuals, it is a personal journey that can result in struggle or triumph depending on life circumstances; and for countries, it can be an economic driver, or a source of social tension or even conflict.
Host Maggie Perzyna, a researcher with the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration program at Toronto Metropolitan University, explores the complexity of migration with the help of leading academics and professionals working with migrants on the ground.
Season 4 of Borders & Belonging explores reflexivity: the practice of turning research back on itself to examine how we know what we know.
This season draws on the lived experiences of pioneering scholars whose work has transformed how we understand human movement across borders. We then ask each scholar to nominate an up-and-coming scholar they admire, whose research builds on, challenges, or complements their own. Join us as we trace the threads connecting scholarship across time, experience, and perspective.
For show notes and transcripts, visit: https://www.torontomu.ca/cerc-migration/borders-and-belonging/
Signal Award wins in 2023, 2024, and 2025.
Borders & Belonging
Why We Build Border Walls
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Since the 1990s, the world has seen a spike in border wall construction. What is driving the increase? The episode begins with a reflection from journalist Todd Miller on the dangers facing undocumented migrants along the Mexican border. Maggie Perzyna (researcher with the Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Migration and Integration program) is then joined by Douglas Massey (Princeton University) and Elisabeth Vallet (University of Quebec at Montreal).
Borders & Belonging, produced by CERC Migration and openDemocracy, considers both the individual experience – the difficult decisions and many challenges faced by migrants on their journey—plus the global processes – the national policies, international agreements, trends of war, climate change, employment and more – that affect the movement of people.
Through interviews with leading experts from around the world, Borders & Belonging brings together the hard evidence with stories of the human experience to shift the common discourse and kindle new thinking in advocacy, policy and research.
A group of top researchers contribute articles that complement each podcast with a deeper dive into the themes discussed.
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🌎 Have a question or episode idea? Email bordersandbelonging@gmail.com.
