Since the collapse of communism and the subsequent breakup of the Soviet Union, borders have been changing at an alarming rate.  The constant reconfiguration of nations in the Balkans and elsewhere has created a world where the notions of nationalism have become politically charged like no other time before.  The seemingly unstoppable momentum of Late Capitalism has paved over the old roads of the now outdated ideologies, thereby creating a safer and wider lane in which "democracy" and "freedom" can cruise.  Moreover, with the apparent stalling of the Middle East "peace process", and the advent of a renewed and intensified violence between Palestinians and Israelis, the problem of a right to ownership over a dwelling place becomes increasingly problematic.  This particular problematic not only begs questions of a politics, but ones of the fate of cultural and religious centers, historic landmarks, and countless others.  The meshing of economic, political, social, and cultural sites have given way to a new ontological horizon based upon a biopolitical regime whose center is nowhere and whose periphery is everywhere.  Can a biopolitical perception of the world still be influenced by a dwelling place?  What is the fate of dwelling places in a world that is increasingly supranational?  How does our conception of dwelling places change in the wake of Hardt and Negri's notion of Empire, characterized by its lack of boundaries?  As history and identity dissolve into a nebulous of Empire, can dwelling places still have an impact outside the virtual?  Furthermore, can theory serve as a final form of resistance in a world so dominated by image and mass consumerism?  Crossings seeks articles dealing with the topic (s) of dwelling places as they have been understood (or misunderstood) since the end of the Second World War and as we find ourselves catapulted into the twenty-first century.  We are especially interested in articles dealing with the relationship of dwelling places to notions of identity and history; the construction of new spaces, such as the World Wide Web; as well as more abstract dwelling places like musical compositions, the plastic arts, and cinema.  Articles should address the notion of dwelling places as either contributing to or deconstructing traditional notions of how we live in a world that has evolved from a disciplinary society to a society of control.  Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

 

Border Towns                           World Trade Organization Cities as centers of culture          NATO Post War Berlin                          United Nations Concentration Camps                "Rogue Nations" Desert Outposts                        Nuclear Powers Vacation Spots                          The Taliban NAFTA                                      Religious sites Virtual Tours                              Archeological sites The "failure" of Theory                First and Third Worlds