*ONLINE* Thinking On Sunday: Britain and Borders – A Story of Migration, Race and Law

** This is an ONLINE only event. Please register for an online ticket using the “Book Now” link **

** Conway Hall is a charity and we politely ask you to add a donation of at least £5 when registering. **

Borders are more than geographical lines – they impact all our lives, whether it’s the fallout from Brexit or the inhumanity of a detention center.

The British Empire, about which Britons know little, can be remembered fondly as a moment of past glory, as a gift once given to the world. Meanwhile immigration laws are justified on the basis that they keep the undeserving hordes out. In fact, immigration laws are acts of colonial seizure and violence. They obstruct the vast majority of racialised people from accessing colonial wealth amassed in the course of colonial conquest.

Debunking media myths that vilify migrants, In her book Border Nation Leah Cowan dives into the murky waters of corporate profiteering over borders from companies like G4S, and the exploitation of migrants through the shady rhetoric of modern slavery. She looks at what it is really like to be a migrant in the UK, and how detention and deportation damage the mental and physical health of the people who need support, not hostility.

Nadine El-Enany, author of (B)ordering Britain, argues that Britain is the spoils of empire, its immigration law is colonial violence and irregular immigration is anti-colonial resistance. The British Empire, about which Britons know little, can be remembered fondly as a moment of past glory, as a gift once given to the world. Meanwhile immigration laws are justified on the basis that they keep the undeserving hordes out.

Nadine El-Enany has written for numerous publications including the Guardian, Media Diversified, Left Foot Forwardand Critical Legal Thinking. She recently co-edited After Grenfell: Violence, Resistance and Response. Nadine is Senior Lecturer in Law at Birkbeck School of Law and Co-Director of the Centre for Research on Race and Law.

Leah Cowan is the former Politics Editor at the award-winning magazine gal-dem. She works at Project 17, an advice center which supports migrant families with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF). She speaks on race, gender and migration, including for UN Women, in the House of Commons, and at the Trade Unions Congress, and has written for VICE, openDemocracy and the Guardian.

LINKS FOR FURTHER INFO:

Website:  https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745341071/border-nation/ / https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526145420/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PlutoPress / https://www.facebook.com/ManchesterUniversityPress

Twitter: @PlutoPress / @La_Cowan / @ManchesterUP / @NadineElEnany

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/plutopress/ / https://www.instagram.com/manchester_university_press/

** This talk will be held online using the Zoom application (available for PC, Mac, iOS and Android). A link to join the talk will be sent to ticketholders on the day of the event. **