From early times on, the concept of the border and home in the Americas was continuously changing, denoting sometimes ephemeral boundaries and temporary locations. Throughout history, the westward expansion in the U.S.A. as well as the wars of independence in Central and South America relativized the concept of dividing lines and homes, respectively. With time, the geographical boundaries of the continent’s countries together with the politically symbolic demarcations gained additional meanings and while in some cases borderlines emphasized actual separation between states, in other cases they pointed only at the historical heritage of a given region. Moreover, geographic, political, economic and cultural borders both separate and connect American countries; the transnational migration tendencies of the 20^th and 21^st centuries show that the home-searching process still goes on with the peoples of the Americas finding their new habitats within the same continent―but in another country. Nevertheless, the peoples of the Americas stood and still stand in close connection with each other; Latin American nations and the society of the U.S.A. and Canada are in constant interaction having their past, present and future intertwined. Our conference is seeking answers and possible solutions to several questions related to the concept of border and home throughout a spectrum of disciplines including history, literature, theater, film and performance studies, linguistics, cultural history, digital and visual culture, ethnography, anthropology, migration and minority studies, etc. These questions involve, among many others, the following aspects: What does the concept of home denote in different countries of the Americas? Is it still relevant to talk about borders at all? Or of homes in the American context? Or should we formulate other concepts in rethinking the issue of boundaries, borders, frontiers, demarcation and crossings? And what does Americanness mean in the context of homes and borders? What does it mean today to be American?

The goal of our Transnational Americas: Home(s), Borders and Transgressions conference is to bring together researchers and academics interested in various approaches involving the concepts of home and borders by providing a broad, multidisciplinary discussion on the topic. We aim to explore boundaries of different kinds involving migrations across geographical locations as well as the borderlands of identities and lives connected with the notion of home placed in a transnational, inter-American context.

The conference is organized in memory of Prof. Dr. Ádám Anderle, Professor Emeritus of history, one of the most outstanding hispanists of Central Europe and founder of the Department of Hispanic Studies of the University of Szeged, who passed away last year.