Walls, barriers, barricades, borders are lines (real and imaginary) reified to divide, define, and contain, but there are also borderlands and border crossings which necessarily blur and defy arbitrary lines and lead to rethinking notions of belonging and belongings.

We seek paper proposals about borders and border crossings (natural, geopolitical, linguistic, cultural, generic) in early modern English literature for a panel at the 2027 MLA. In what ways do border crossings redefine notions of belonging or efface the borders themselves? To what degree might contemporary thinking on migration and borderlands illuminate aspects of the past? Is there a relation between the crossing of geopolitical boundaries and the crossing of genres? In keeping with the presidential theme of the 2027 MLA, might narrative of border crossing in the early modern period participate in emancipatory narratives?

Send abstracts to Scott Oldenburg, scottkoldenburg@gmail.com by March 15, 2026.