Crossing Lines: Comics about Human Migration

Antje Ellermann, Frederik Byrn Kรธhlert, Sarah Leavitt

Book cover for Crossing Lines: Comics about Human Migration
Book cover for Crossing Lines: Comics about Human Migration
Image for variant 9781049801223
Image for variant 9781487531393
Book cover for Crossing Lines: Comics about Human Migration
Book cover for Crossing Lines: Comics about Human Migration
Image for variant 9781049801223
Image for variant 9781487531393

Crossing Lines: Comics about Human Migration

Crossing Lines: Comics about Human Migration

Antje Ellermann, Frederik Byrn Kรธhlert, Sarah Leavitt

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Description

Across Europe and North America, far-right parties have strategically framed immigration as a threat to national identity and security, capitalizing on public anxieties around cultural change and economic pressure.


Part of the groundbreaking ethnoGRAPHIC series, Crossing Lines is a graphic anthology about human migration that challenges the rise of anti-immigrant populism. Research shows that it is difficult to counter these "us-versus-them" narratives with evidence alone. Blending visual and textual storytelling, this collection moves beyond traditional forms of communication to engage readers emotionally with the complex realities of migration.


Emerging out of a workshop held at the University of British Columbia's Centre for Migration Studies in 2022, this graphic anthology features eight powerful narratives, collaboratively created by migration scholars and comics artists. Crossing Lines considers the personal and social impacts of migration, offering nuanced perspectives accessible to a wide audience. Each comic is paired with discussion questions and annotated further readings to encourage dialogue and understanding in the face of polarizing public discourse.


Crossing Lines is a timely and indispensable resource for scholars, educators, and readers seeking to better understand migration in today's globalized world.

About the Author

Antje Ellermann is a professor of political science and the founder and co-director of the Centre for Migration Studies at the University of British Columbia. Frederik Byrn Kรธhlert is an associate professor of English and film at Edinburgh Napier University.
Sarah Leavitt is an associate professor at the School of Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia, where she has developed and taught comics creation classes since 2012. Mireille Paquet is a professor of political science and holds the university research chair in immigration policies at Concordia University.

Critical Reviews

"Crossing Lines is the book that I didn't know I needed until I read it. The authors and artists in this collection delve into themes of belonging and non-belonging, the ongoing challenges migrants face when trying to acquire citizenship in settler-colonial contexts, and more. The comics were at turns heartfelt, funny, enraging, and poignant. I simply loved this book."--Ethel Tungohan, York University, author of Care Activism: Migrant Domestic Workers, Communities of Care and Movement-Building
"This collection brings together the moving personal stories we might expect on this topic with wholly unexpected - and no less moving - comics that draw on humor and wonder, giving us such surprises as talking birds and abstract shapes on the move across borders. Crossing Lines showcases how comics are a vast medium that has the capacity to convey urgent, timely stories about human migration in ways that can make us see, feel, and act differently."--Candida Rifkind, University of Winnipeg, coauthor of Graphic Refuge: Visuality and Mobility in Refugee Comics

Publishing Information

Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Pub date: 2025-10-28
Length: 144 pages

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