Migration, Transnationalism and the Cultural Logic of Global Identity
A special issue of the American, British and Canadian Studies Journal, December 2016

Guest Editor: Dr. Susan Flynn, University of the Arts, London

J.P. Sartre’s existentialist notion of man’s freedom is that he can always choose to attempt an escape. In the aftermath of the Arab spring (soon turned into Arab winter), there is little doubt that profound changes are shaping the life choices of millions who now look toward Britain and continental Europe to regain the sense of freedom for which the latter still stand. As global migration soars, hundreds of thousands of migrants are queuing at European border crossings as we write, seeking a broader, more encompassing, New European identity. Whether the phenomenon is viewed as a ‘migrant’ or as a ‘refugee’ crisis, suffice it to say recent events in the Middle East have cast the concerns of mass movement of people across Europe to the forefront of world attention. We therefore find it both timely and compelling to consider the cultural expressions and reverberations of forced and voluntary migrations toward Britain in the framework of the current refugee crisis. This special edition of ABC Studies Journal thus seeks to reflect on the personal, religious, political and economic ultimacies of travel and migrancy, in the hope of contributing significantly to current academic discourse on global identity. To this end in view, we invite platform papers as well as original critical articles which address these concerns from a variety of perspectives and disciplinary angles. Submissions in film, television, literature and media studies illustrative of these emergent discourses are especially welcomed. We are particularly interested in research on the new directions in scholarship engendered by current patterns of global migration.

Key themes may include, but are not limited to:
 Global mobility and cultural diaspora
 National immigration policies within the EU
 Spaces, borders, transnationalism
 Globalisation, regionalism and cultural identity
 The New media and the ethics of spectatorship

Articles will be subject to a blind peer review process and must not be under consideration for any other publications. Please refer to the author submission guidelines on the American, British and Canadian Studies Journal website, http://abcjournal.ulbsibiu.ro. Complete manuscripts, of up to a maximum of 7500 words including bibliography, are requested by June 15th, 2016 for publication in December 2016. Please include a biographical note of up to 200 words, accompanied by an abstract (500 words) and a list of 10 key words/concept. Enquiries and submissions are to be directed to Dr. Susan Flynn, School of Media, London College of Communications, University of the Arts, London, s.flynn@lcc.arts.ac.uk and copied to abc.journal@ulbsibiu.ro. Authors will be notified within six weeks of the closing date.