FARMINGTON — The University of Maine will present Borderlands Symposium, a series of talks, workshops, performances and films to illustrate some of the social, economic, political and ecological issues that exist along North America’s borders.

UMF’s Borderlands Symposium brings together interdisciplinary creative thinkers and activists from along the U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canadian borders.

According to joint organizers of the forum, Gustavo Aguilar, UMF assistant professor of experimental performance, and Gaelyn Aguilar, UMF assistant professor of anthropology, the symposium creates an opportunity for students and community members to come together for a dialogue as they consider some of the challenging immigration issues that face all North Americans today.

The events are free and open to the public and take place between March 31 and April 8 at venues across the UMF campus.

UMF Borderlands Symposium events include:

March 31: Deterritorializing Paul Bunyan: Re-Writing the Myth,  9:50-11:30 a.m. Thursday, UMF Art Gallery. Written excerpts from stories about Paul Bunyan begin a collective rewriting of the myth. Space is limited. To register, please contact Gaelyn Aguilar at [email protected].

April 2: Deterritorializing Paul Bunyan: Re-Patriating Paul Bunyan, 9 a.m., Saturday, meet outside UMF Dearborn Gym. A road trip to Bangor’s statue of Paul Bunyan. To sign up for the road trip, contact Gustavo Aguilar at [email protected].

April 4: Book Discussion — Death of Josseline: Immigration Stories from the Arizona Borderlands, 11 a.m.-noon Monday, Mantor Library Browsing Room (1st floor). In January 2008, Josseline Quinteros died while trying to cross from Mexico into the United States. A conversation will take place about the southern border and the people who cross it. UMF prepares for the arrival of Dan Millis, the Sierra Club member and humanitarian activist who found Josseline’s body in the desert.

April 5: Ah Raza! The Making of an American Artist, 7:30-9:30 p.m. Tuesday, Alumni Theater. Set against the backdrop of Aguilar’s hometown of Brownsville, Texas, a performance with Tug (Gustavo Aguilar and Gaelyn Aguilar).

April 6: Anxious Frontiers in a Global Economy, 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, The Landing, UMF Student Center. Panel discussion on borders and borderlands with Ricardo Dominguez, Dan Millis, Lee Rodney and Justin Langlois.

April 6: De-Territorializing Paul Bunyan: Paul Bunyan in the 21st Century, 3-5 p.m. Wednesday, Mantor Library Browsing Room (1st floor). Lee Rodney and Justin Langlois attend the grand opening of the UMF/Farmington Paul Bunyan Research Hub.

April 6: The Spectacle of Surveillance: Ricardo Dominguez and Dan Millis, 7:30-10 p.m. Wednesday, The Landing, UMF Student Center. Discussion of electronic civil disobedience, digital zapatismo and transborder interventions and Sierra Club border film “Wild Versus Wall” followed by an in-depth conversation/slide show.

April 7: De-Territorializing Paul Bunyan: Designing the Tactical Bunyan Suit v2.0, 9:50 a.m.-noon Thursday, location to be announced. Students and community members collaborate on the initial design phase of the tactical Bunyan suit v2.0 — redesigned modern border-crosser attire.

April 7: “Sleep Dealer” film screening and discussion, 7:30-9:30 p.m. Thursday, Lincoln Auditorium, UMF Roberts Learning Center. The film is set in a future world marked by closed borders and a global computer network.

April 8: Closer to Home: Migrant Health and Education in the State of Maine, 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday, Lincoln Auditorium, UMF Roberts Learning Center. A presentation and conversation on migrant and seasonal workers in Maine by Eric Holman, Fabiola Ortiz, Debbie Gilmer and Maria Millard.

Anyone interested in additional information may visit the Borderlands Symposium website at http://umf.maine.libguides.com/Borderlands.