Introduction (The End of the Borders)

An ecotone is a transitional area between two or more distinct ecological communities, like for example the zone between field and forest, mountain and ocean, or between sea and land. The two ecosystems may be separated by a sharp boundary line or may merge gradually. An ecotone may also indicate a place where two communities meet, at times creolizing or germinating into a new community. We will be borrowing this term traditionally used in environmental studies and geography, and apply it to postcolonial studies in disciplines such as history, the social and political sciences, ethnic studies, etc. Consequently, Ecotones seek to continue exploring the complex chemistry of creolizing worlds, the contact zones between cultures in contexts such as migration, diaspora, refugee movements and other postcolonial displacements and environmental evacuations, among other major historical events. The ecotones, as points of contact or points of friction, between the Indian Ocean and the African continent, will provide the main frame of approach.