A crossroad is a place where a kind of knot is formed by different streams, where roads meet, but continues to move. The migration processes that took place in Europe in the 18th-20th centuries, conditioned by historical events, created unique “crossroads of cultures” in which languages, traditions and customs merged. Such “crossroads” often appeared in border areas, where unique mixed ethnocultural spaces have developed.

The field of “border studies”, originated in the geographical science, has significantly expanded towards an interdisciplinary approach and needs constant updating of information. Taking into account the partial closure of borders in the pandemic context, which means a reduction and qualitative change in a number of cases of intercultural interaction, questioning the ways ethnocultural groups evolve and develop, is of special interest. Acquaintance with the reports of colleagues and exchange of views during the discussions will allow the participants of the panel to gain new information about the research carried out in this field of science in different countries.

Considering the fact that, despite attempts to unify scientific discourse, there are discrepancies in the scientific terminology in different languages, we propose to create in the IUAES Congress a panel jointly with the INALCO Institute (National Institute of Oriental Languages and Cultures, Paris, France), in which papers will be presented in French and other Romance languages.

This panel of the IUAES Congress will be created to discuss the problem of preserving and transforming border cultures, issues of acculturation and assimilation, as well as preserving ethnocultural and linguistic identity.

The panel papers are supposed to discuss such issues as:

1. Intercultural interference of the Romance and Slavic world.
2. The role of historical memory in the development of ethnic identity.
3. Specificity of the processes of formation of national and ethnocultural identity in border areas.
4. Mechanisms of assimilation in border areas.
5. The role of archives and libraries in preserving the cultural heritage of ethnic groups subjected to assimilation or acculturation.
6. Borderland museums: role, function, experience.
7. Multilingualism at the crossroads of cultures.
8. Ethnocultural enclaves in Europe.

Information on application: https://iuaes2022.spb.ru/#calls