December 2-3, 2025. Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic research, Luxembourg.

Together with the Department Urban Development and Mobility (LISER) and the support from the Centre of Competence for Experimental and Participatory Research (LISER) we organized an international seminar on methodologies in visual studies.

On two half days, six experts presented their work on visual studies with a wide variety of applied topics.

Tuesday, 2 December 14:00-17:00

Giorgia Aiello, University of Milan

(Why) does visual-material criticism matter in (post)digital urban research?

Kamil Bembnista, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research

Unpacking border visual discourses. The example of Basel cross-border cooperation 

Crispin Thurlow, University of Bern

Messy Methods for Trashy Worlds

Wednesday, 3 December 9:00-12:00

Irene Gutiérrez-Torres, Vrije Universiteit Brussel and University Carlos III of Madrid

Reframing Europe’s Borderscape: Participatory Filmmaking as Placemaking

Elisabeth Sommerlad, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz

Christopher Turner, University of Greenwich

Capturing the moment: Participatory photography as a visual method for qualitative food environment research

Christophe Sohn and Kamil Bembnista presented their work at the "Border regions in transition XVII: Contested borderlands as spaces of negotiation and adaptation" conference on May, 26-28 2025 in Pyla, Cyprus. 

The presentation is titled: Exploring the visual grammar of border meaning-making strategies

Come and meet us at the conference!

Come and meet Christophe Sohn at the ABS annual conference 2025 on April 2-5 in Seattle, USA.

Thursday April 3, 10:15am - 11:45am, Location: Issaquah B: ROUNDTABLE: Models for Cross-Border Governance

Thursday April 3, 12pm - 1pm, Location: Issaquah B: Meet the Editors

Friday April 4, 8:30am - 10:00am, Location: Issaquah B ROUNDTABLE: Border Research Agenda of the Past, Present and Future: Part II

Friday April 4, 10:15am - 11:45am, Location: Issaquah A PANEL: Border Sense(es)

• Border Wall Semiotics - Christophe Sohn, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER) 

We presented out work on the (De)Constructing Borders in Borderlands Studies - The 1st Congress of the Researchers of Borders and Borderlands on September, 16-18 2024 in Wrocław and Opole (Poland). 

You can find what we presented on the following list:

Christophe Sohn: The explanatory potential of social semiotics for border studies: The example of border walls semiosis

Ekaterina Mikhailova: Border Semiotics in Miniature: Production of Border Symbolism in Twin Cities with an Example of Frankfurt/Słubice

Loris Pagnani: Border Semiotics and Cross-Border Regionalization: A Visual Analysis of Cross-Border Cooperation in the Greater Region since the 1970s

Jerome Jakob: A semiotic analysis of cross-border cooperation imaginaries: the case of Frankfurt (Oder)-Słubice 

We presented our work at the Disruptive borderlands conference organised by Dr. Christophe Sohn.

You can find what we presented on the following list :

Dr. Ekaterina Mikhailova : "Everyday Border Symbolism post-2020 and post-2022: new challenges and new meanings in Frankfurt(Oder)-Slubice” 

Loris Pagnani : "Border Semiotics and Cross-Border Regionalization: A visual analysis of Cross-Border Cooperation in the Greater Region since the 1970’s” 

Jerome Jakob : "Cross-border imaginaries: The semiotic Borderlands of Frankfurt (Oder)– Slubice"