Reflections on Literature, Translation, and Border with the Undergraduate Students at the Universitat De València (Spain)

During six consecutive years at the Philology, Translation and Communication Faculty at the Universitat de València (Spain) we have developed a conference workshop called JOLIN that was born with the desire to delve into literary, visual, social and educational studies through illustrated literature (from children’s picture-books, graphic novels, comics to the photo-textual world), a literary modality that is usually left out despite its social tradition and impact on the current publishing world. The critical political, social, economic, cultural and health crisis we live in makes it urgent to precisely consider this space for reflection where we can critically question the society around us through humanism, education, and culture, reflecting on the role of social agents. Therefore, this last session―JOLIN2020―that took place during December 17th and 18th 2020, was conceived as a platform to echo and to revolve around the recognition of one’s own position of power, the forms of domination and processes of hegemony present in today’s society (Balasch et al. Athenea Digital 8:129–144, 2005, 133), with “the border”―both physical and metaphorical―as essential backbone. It is therefore proposed an article that, in an academic yet informative tone, allows us to know the opinion regarding the Border concept―geographical, political, cultural, and regarding migratory movements―allowing us to know the perception regarding this literary and literal reality in our country and beyond. The intention of this massive data gathering at our faculty is to learn more about our students’ perspective regarding the frontiers, as well as to help students develop an ethical perspective that allows them to understand the partial discourses that shape the society in which we live and enable transformation through critical-emancipatory education.