The sea ends here Past apocalypses, future grabs and itineraries in-between Call for participants

Workshop

Nov 3-5, 2025

Algeciras, Spain

This three-day workshop explores endings and beginnings over and under the surface along the Strait of Gibraltar, one of the world’s busiest waterways, with base will be Algeciras. It is organized by MedNet and ANTSEAS EASA networks and the ECR-funded project Discovering the (deep) Mediterranean. In Algeciras, keynotes and academic discussions will be interspersed with local tours of sites and topics. The focus will be on-site conversation and collective thinking in relation to the workshop theme and site. Applicants from any discipline with relevant research profile or interest are welcome to apply.

Theme: In ancient Greece, the Strait of Gibraltar marked the end of the civilized world and human exploration evinced by its name Non plus ultra (nothing further beyond). With the strait as vantage point, the workshop The sea ends here explores ends and endings connected to movements in and across the Mediterranean and oceans. Where does a sea, a maritime route, a refugee’s journey, a political uprising, or toxic waste end? Can we draw lines in the water? What constitutes an end: a dream or a destination, a physical or man-made barrier, a closure or a new beginning? How do people set, enforce, and cross political and disciplinary boundaries in three-dimensional spaces? Where, when and how futures begin and end? And who grabs futures? Competing endings and futures are ever so present in areas along Mediterranean shores as well as below the sea surface. Parallel to economic crises, hijacked uprisings, the refugee crisis and environmental degradation governments stage bright futures through green-energy and corporate megaprojects. Similarly, blue-economy optimism on oceans intersects scenarios of extinction and ecological collapse. On the ground, as beneath the waves, people navigate new endings, readjusting life-trajectories and dreams. Others already live “past the apocalypse” embarking on dangerous crossings of the sea in search for new beginnings.

Application: Instead of an abstract, we ask for a short motivation for how the workshop could contribute to your research and how your research can enrich the workshop. Please send a 200-300-word motivation to theseaendshere@gmail.com by March 31, 2025. Limited travel grants will be available with priority for precarious and early-career scholars. Please indicate your funding status in the application.

For more information, see attached Call for Participants. If you have questions, please reach out to Marta: M.Gentilucci@uib.no.

We are looking forward to your application.

All the best,

Karin Ahlberg (MedNet)

Lino Camprubi (Discovering the (deep) Mediterranean)

Alice Elliot (MedNet)

Marta Gentilucci (ANTSEAS)

Hege Høyer Leivestad( MedNet)

Raffaele Maddaluno (ANTSEAS)

Gabriele Orlandi (MedNet)