Apologies for Cross Posting
Class, Space, and Community – Workshop Conference
6-8 April 2001 University of Durham
Plenary Speakers: John Russo and Sherry Linkon – Centre for Working
Class Studies Youngstown State University Ohio USA
The overarching theme of this inter-disciplinary workshop conference can
be summarized in this question: what are the cultural implications for
people whose community identities have been founded around industrialism
of the elimination of the traditional industrial bases of their
localities and regions with particular reference to the understanding of
social exclusion? Social exclusion is usually defined as including
'cultural exclusion', but by that is meant separation of people from the
cultural norms and practices of general society, often interpreted in
terms of 'high' and 'academic' culture. We want to consider whether
industrial cultures were resources developed both as the basis of
survival, and, within the traditions of organized labour, as versions of
possible alternative futures, noting that these collective projects had
as much to do with social reproduction in the home and community as with
work itself. The apparent triumph of globalized liberal flexible
consumer capitalism implies that such cultures are irrelevant and
redundant. 'Cultural' industry development, as a regeneration strategy,
usually works through the imposition of a globalized and general culture
in place of 'glocalized' industrial cultures - specific local responses
to the general conditions of industrial life. We note that such
regeneration programmes ignore the way in which anthropologists working
in third world cities have identified 'distinctive culture' as a
resource for personal and communal survival. We are thinking here of
Lewis' original formulation of the idea of culture of poverty, , and
Wikan's use of Barth's general conception of culture as a resource.
'Excluded people' are often identified as having a cultural problem. The
notion that they might have historically founded cultural resources on
which to draw is seldom considered. We want to consider it.
We want to emphasize the inter-disciplinary character of this project.
We hope that anthropologists, sociologists, historians, people working
in cultural studies, and people working in the political economy
tradition will be interested in participating.
Possible Sub-Themes
1. 'The idea of industrial culture in postindustrial age'
2. 'Cultural forms in postindustrial industrial society - issues of
gender, ethnicity and age'
3. ‘Class and Community – social movements or the last gasp of class
politics?’
4. 'The implications of global culture for glocal industrial cultures in
postindustrial society'
5. 'Recasting local images - the implications for glocal industrial
culture'
The format of this conference will be workshop with numbers limited to
thirty participants all of whom will present a short paper. There will
eight half price places for research students (i.e. half of
accommodation costs) and no conference fee for any participants.
Accommodation in a Durham College will be available for those who
require it for approx. £75 full board for the duration of the workshop
We hope to generate at least one publication and develop a long term
programme of working class studies as an interdisciplinary project in
the UK and beyond.
Abstracts are invited from anyone interested. The abstract of not more
than 500 words should be sent to both:
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And
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by the 30th November 2000
David Byrne
Dept of Sociology and Social Policy
University of Durham
Durham DH1 3JT
email [log in to unmask]
WWW http://www.dur.ac.uk/Sociology
0191-374-2319
0191-374-4743 (fax)
David Byrne
Dept of Sociology and Social Policy
University of Durham
Durham DH1 3JT
email [log in to unmask]
WWW http://www.dur.ac.uk/Sociology
0191-374-2319
0191-374-4743 (fax)
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