Borders suggest both barriers and closeness. They paradoxically can be sites of fear, trauma, and stagnation; they can also be dynamic and fluid places of discovery and change. In this age of technology, borders can shrink or they can be redefined, replaced, and re-established. Conference participants will explore perceptions and interpretations of border crossings that take place as we travel, teach, and learn in a global age.

Eighty speakers representing twenty-five countries will discuss the crossing borders theme as it pertains to the teaching and the study of science, language, arts, and culture.

Keynote speakers include Roger Yu, Ph.D. Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and the Professor of Physics at NYIT; Liu Haiping, Ph.D. Professor of English and American literature, Nanjing University; and Jane Hirshfield, poet and author of six award-winning collections of poetry.

The Conference promotes interdisciplinary research, and panels focus on a variety of themes, including Identity and Translation in Poetry; Cyberculture, Technology, and the Classroom; and Digital Art.