@JulietJFall@mastodon.social
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JulietJFall

@JulietJFall@mastodon.social

Professor of political & creative geography at Université de Genève (she/her), Switzerland 🇨🇭 Hoping more academics engage around here, so tooting about work, but also sewing & yodeling.
English, French, Italian. Some German. #Academic #Geographer #Géographe #PoliticalGeography #GéographiePolitique #Borders #Frontières #CreativeGeography #VisualMethods #MéthodesVisuelles #Comics #BandeDessinée #HistoryOfGeography #FeministEpistemologies #AcademicsWithCats #VintageSewingMachines #Quilting

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JulietJFall, to geopolitics
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Want to see atmospheric yet often really mundane border photos? My online 🇨🇭🇫🇷 walking journal is moving here, as I’m enjoying this new online atmosphere. (I’m freezing new posts on Twatter & just ‘name-holding’ my account.)
Link to last post on one of the longer earlier threads:
https://twitter.com/julietjfall/status/1571476764269871104?s=46&t=9RfIT2qARWZk8ZBEIES9Vw

JulietJFall,
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Context: This autoethnographic & ad hoc project builds on visual fieldwork carried out during the 1st Covid lockdown, published as an academic comic. It is an ongoing attempt to make sense of borders, identity & the visual performances of statehood as a political geographer interested in feminist & open-ended creative methods (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2399654420933900)
Today’s walk started by revealing the invisible border through infrastructure.

Rural landscape with an incongruous high-voltage electricity pylon that is built just inside the Swiss border, pictured in the evening sun.

JulietJFall,
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We then came to border stone no. 52, in the setting sun. (This border was demarcated in 1815, so S is for Savoie, G is for Geneva). We followed the edge of a field, looking for the next one, following the line indicated on the top.
(Methodologically, I love how the injunction to label the image makes me think about it more consciously & mindfully compared to in previous threads!)

Border stone in a field in the setting sun, with a large letter S carved on what is now the French side. The stone appears to be slightly leaning sideways.
A border stone lies in an agricultural field against the setting sun. It almost seems to echo an ancient monument such as a Neolithic henge, as the sun sets behind it.

JulietJFall,
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With the help of an online map by the Swiss mapping agency (SwissTopo), we found the next border stone no. 53, semi-buried, with just the G (for Geneva) showing, perhaps when the French built the new sporting complex next to the international border? We then headed home on our bikes as it was getting cold.

Author’s partner dressed in bright cycling clothes standing on the border stone that is barely visible.

JulietJFall,
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After the double fun of flu & Christmas, both spent in a cloud of brain fog, it was good to get out to continue our delightfully erratic border walk. Rather confusingly, we started at border stone no. 1, the “other” first one, this time on the right bank. Double border stones, at the tripoint of the Canton de Vaud & Canton of Geneva (both 🇨🇭) touching France (🇫🇷). The Geneva one dates back to 1818, Treaty of Paris.

Two border stones by the Versoix river, one on the left showing the Geneva eagle & key, one Vaud’s shield.
Border stone showing with number 1 engraved on the side.
Juliet leaning on border stone number 1, by a river, wearing winter clothes. The stone reaches her waist.

JulietJFall,
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The Geneva/Vaud cantonal border is historically significant, as it used to be the international Swiss border before the Treaties of Paris & Turin extended the territory of Geneva & joined it to the Helvetic Confederation (“Switzerland”). We were amused to see that some of the old border stones remain, now marking an internal (cantonal) border.

The same stone, showing the side marked with a red G for Geneva, but immediately below it says France (because it used to be France)
Border stone covered in moss & ivy, marked as no 22, by a field
The other side of the border stone, showing double dates (1808 and 1976)

JulietJFall,
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We followed the river for about an hour, enjoying the wintry landscape and beautiful woods. There were no more border stones along there, as the 🇨🇭🇫🇷border follows the middle of the river for a good stretch. We wandered slowly, stepping over muddy patches, enjoying the delightful intersection of , , rather than the normal frozen ground of a usual December. It was 10C (i.e. much too hot…)!

Moss growing lush on a rock in the foreground next to a river.
Lichen on branches next to a river. The sun sets in the background. Cool winter colours.
Setting sun over the Versoix river. Jumbled trunks and branches jut into the water.

JulietJFall,
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We continued our walk along the Versoix river, meeting border stone number 2 along the way, set in a wall. We were amused by a sign on the French side, explaining that when the border was redefined, the inhabitants of the village of Sauverny living on the left side of the river had to join a foreign country “without any choice in the matter”. No laughing matter, obviously, but it seemed to be implied that they were leaving civilisation behind…

Border stone no 2, with the author
Border stone no 2, with 1818 carved on one side, and the eagle & key crest on another.
A bridge of the Versoix river, showing the French village of Sauverny on the other side, and border stone number 2 on the right, set into a wall.

JulietJFall,
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We scrambled up along the little stream used to define the border between the Versoix and border stone No. 4. This is a long stretch of the border demarcated after the 1818 Treaty of Paris, with a lot of twists and turns in a small area. So our walk is in stops and starts. The light is flat, and rain spits at us. Not a great day for photography.
?

A limestone border stone up close, with number 4 carved on the side. Covered in moss and lichen.
The border stone is frame with a wider angle. It is resting next to a field, with a yellow Swiss footpath sign behind it. The Salève mountain, with wisps of cloud, is visible in the distance.
The same border stone, framed by trees. There is lots of mud in the foreground.

JulietJFall,
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Border stones 5, 6, 7 mark out an odd little triangle, then lead us on along a field. We might feel in the middle of nowhere, but we are approaching one of the relay stations of the cross-border CERN hadron collider loop. Modern physics meets ancient political history. If it weren’t the holidays, we might imagine particles zooming around under our feet, oblivious to human territories.

Border stone number 6
Border stone number 7, with a glimpse of an industrial site top right.
The entrance to an industrial site, that is in fact part of the CERN nuclear research facility.

JulietJFall,
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The theme of today’s 🇨🇭🇫🇷 border walk was mud mud mud. We certainly earned reaching border stone No. 3, down a steep & muddy gully, joining a stream to the more mighty Versoix river. We almost-but-not-quite joined up with where we stopped two days ago, but in the absence of a bridge we were trapped on the wrong bank. Some limits are truly material objects, even if we use them to define human political creations.
# ?

The number 3 is visible on the side of a border stone shown in the previous shot, by the river Versoix. The limestone rock is carved, and covered in small patches of moss.
The same place as the two previous shots, this time showing the date of 1818 when the stone was laid.
The top of the border stone shows the location of the state border. It is just possible to work out the curvy line that indicates that, from this point on, the border follows the river.

JulietJFall,
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🇨🇭🇫🇷 Border stones 8, 9, 10. On we go, in the light drizzly rain. Is anyone still following along? It is starting to feel like a rather laborious Advent calendar, a few weeks late…
Moss and ivy are slowly taking over some of the stones. Should we clean them? Let them be? I am torn between feeling that they should be cleaned & preserved and a fondness for the romantic aesthetic of them merging and dissolving into the landscape.

The stone is practically camouflaged in moss, at the foot of a tree. Autumn / winter colours.
Border stone number 9
Border stone number 10, at the edge of a field.

JulietJFall,
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🇨🇭🇫🇷 Border stones 11, 12, 13, 14. Some have been restored and cleaned. So someone has decided to apply Swiss standards of cleanliness to these old ladies. Adieu romantic decay.

image/jpeg
image/jpeg
image/jpeg

JulietJFall,
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🤣😳In the interest of documentary accuracy, I must admit that we found a pair of rather kinky underpants for someone with a penis on 🇨🇭🇫🇷 border stone number 14! Perhaps these woods, easily accessible by car, are the site of delightfully furtive nocturnal encounters? Certainly someone had enough fun recently to leave behind their underwear… I delicately lifted them & placed them on a different stone. In case you are out looking for them?🩲

JulietJFall,
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We trundled on a little way until border stone 17, before doubling back, hungry and damp, but still wearing our underwear. We felt like eating fresh crispy French bread & strong coffee, but unfortunately the villages we passed through on our way home were uninspiring — and the rare boulangeries we found were shut. Clichés of French cuisine be damned: this is a periurban area taking a break after Christmas, filled with crumbling malls not bijou cafés.

Border stone number 16 by a road. It is lower than the others in this series. A red G is visible on one side, and a 16 on another.
A border stone 16 by a road, with the line on the top indicating very clearly the location and direction of the border.
Border stone number 17, un cleaned and covered in moss. A big puddle stretches across the path beyond.

JulietJFall,
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A quick 🇨🇭🇫🇷 border cycle / walk at the end of a workday, to fill my lungs with fresh air and explore very close to home. It quickly turned very muddy… and rather dark! I look forward to Spring and longer days. But it’s lovely that even close by, I can have mini-border-adventures and come home muddy and happy.

A muddy ditch that marks the Swiss/French border, in rural hilly landscape with a few leafless trees, with a French walking sign in the foreground. The sign indicates « La Feuillée / Frontière » as well as a selection of destinations.
The same location as the previous photo, only showing the walking path sign on the Swiss side.
A nighttime photo showing a border sign by a road, illuminated only by the bike lamp of the author. A car passes on the road, with headlights glowing in the dark. The location of the sign hints at the fact that the author is emerging from a path that joins the road at that spot.

JulietJFall,
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Border stones 39 to 50 today starting in Soral at the bus stop, walking alone in the pouring rain, and then going all the way home. The walk included one of the youngest stretches of border in Geneva following changes peacefully negotiated in 1996, demarcated in 2000: swapping territory in both countries, negotiated by the Canton of Geneva directly with central government in Paris. The🇨🇭federal system means that the organization of such things are devolved to cantons, unlike in 🇫🇷

Author in a yellow raincoat next to border stone
Circular Border marker laid into the road, made of metal, with the inscription “Frontière” and the letters S (Suisse) and F (France), and two lines radiating from the centre indicating the direction of the boundary line.
Modern granite border stone in a field overlooking the village of Soral, with dry brambles and wild grasses. 2000 is engraved on the stone.

JulietJFall,
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A little moment along the way, and a splendid tree that looked as though it had been struck by lightning, just a gnat’s whisker across the border in France.

The burnt and twisted trunk of a tree, with bare winter branches and mistletoe in the higher branches.
Puffy gree moss and little tiny mushrooms on a wall.

JulietJFall,
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What is the point of all this walking? Perhaps because as I wander along these 🇨🇭🇫🇷 now-peaceful lines, exploring home, I can keep in mind other times and other places where boundary lines are still lethal. People kill and die for territories and imaginary lines only a few hours away. My local landscapes are now quiet but the sound of gunfire and strife, wounded bodies, fear and death cling to borderlines.

JulietJFall,
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Today, in sub-zero temperatures, we walked from border stone 16 to 43, starting from Bossy, looping back to our starting point. We were close to here a few weeks ago, in much warmer weather. But despite the freezing ‘bise noire’ north wind ringing in our ears, we were pleased that frozen ground helped us walk across stretches that would have been too muddy only a few days ago.

A freshly-restored border stone with a red painted number 22 on one side lies by a snow-covered field on the left. On the right, bramble branches hint at a forest. The Petit Salève mountain is visible in the distance, under a cloud-filled sky.
A red and white barrier stretches across a path in an agricultural winter landscape, with an old French sign reading “Service Fiscal, passage interdit”. To the left, a large border stone is barely visible. A jogger is visible in the distance, heading towards the horizon of vineyards and fields.
The author walks along the edge of a field. We can see her back, wearing a yellow rucksack. She looks warmly wrapped up. Snow covers the ground, but isn’t too thick to make it obvious that she is walking between two fields. In the far distance, at the edge of the field, there are two border stones close together.

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