Call for Papers - Post-Socialist Geographies Research Group
Royal Geographical Society-Institute of British Geographers Annual
Conference Belfast 2-6 January, 2002
The RGS-IBG Post-Socialist Geographies Research Group will be running
two main sessions at the Belfast RGS-IBG conference:
1. The cultural landscapes and divided communities of post-socialism
2. New economic geographies of post-socialism [jointly with EGRG]
Suggestions for papers to be presented in either of the sessions are
welcomed. They should be sent to the convenors identified in the
further details below. Please send: an abstract of up to 200 words,
including a title, five keywords, and your full name, contact address
and email address (please follow the formatting guidelines at the end
of this email). Please send as an electronic copy via-email or on
diskette (accompanied by hard copy) as directed below. If this is not
possible abstracts can be submitted by post or fax as indicated below.
Deadline for submission: 25th June 2001.
Sessions descriptions:
1. The cultural landscapes and divided communities of post-socialism
The ongoing process of post-socialist transformation is multi-faceted,
and incorporates the reformulation and re-negotiation of cultural
landscapes, and the changing social geography of communities at local,
regional, national and transnational scales. The cultural landscapes
of socialism, constructed within the practicalities of state-socialism
or to fulfil an ideological end, are now the focus of complex
re-negotiations with the past and with the constructions of new images
and identities (for example, the treatment of Communist-era statuary
and the ‘public’ buildings of state-socialism; the realities of life
in Communist-era mass housing etc). In addition, new landscapes
reflecting the imperatives of capitalism and acceptance into the world
order are emerging (skyscrapers, advertising, new housing and new
public monuments and buildings). Papers are welcome which address the
production, consumption and deconstruction of these landscapes in any
part of the post-socialist world and from disciplines beyond
geography.
Intimately bound in with these cultural landscapes are the emerging
social geographies of post-socialism. Economic changes have had the
effect of emphasizing inequalities along the lines of wealth, income
and opportunity. New social divisions and diversity have emerged
connected with the complex processes of: local, regional, national and
transnational identity formation; consumption; gender and sexuality;
political struggle; new social movements; neighbourhood issues;
environmental issues; ethnicity; and war and conflict. Papers which
address the issue of divided post-socialist communities, or which deal
with efforts to heal such divides, are thus sought for this session.
Again, any post-socialist and disciplinary context is applicable.
Post-graduate students: post-graduates at any stage are positively
encouraged to submit papers based on their ongoing work.
Post-graduates will be fully integrated into the main sessions [ie.
they will not be placed in separate post-graduate modules].
Send offers of papers (or a willingness to serve as a discussant) to:
Dr Craig Young, Department of Environmental and Geographical Sciences,
Manchester Metropolitan University, John Dalton Building, Chester
Street, Manchester, M1 5GD, United Kingdom. Tel: UK 0161-247-6198.
Fax: UK 0161-247-6318. Email: [log in to unmask] [if emailing file
please attach it as a Word 6.0/95 file and also embed it in your email
text]
2. New economic geographies of post-socialism [half-day, joint with
EGRG]
Since the collapse of Soviet-style socialism, the so-called
‘transition economies’ of East-Central Europe, the former Soviet Union
and the post-socialist south have all experienced dramatic changes in
their economic geographies. Key issues might include: privatisation,
the changing role of the national, regional and local states, uneven
development and social inequality, economic restructuring, labour
market development, service sector growth, foreign trade and foreign
investment, to mention but a few. At the same time, the last decade
has also seen significant changes in the practice of economic
geography. These sessions seek to bring together these two
developments to explore new ways of analysing the new economic
geographies of post-socialism. In doing so, the sessions hope to build
bridges between post-socialist specialists and other systematic
economic geographers interested in developing new approaches to
economic geography. Comparative studies that place events in the
post-socialist world in global context are particularly welcomed, as
are studies that seek to employ theoretical frameworks developed in
the ‘west’ and the ‘south’ to explain economic-geographical change in
the post-socialist states.
Send offers of papers (or a willingness to serve as a discussant) to:
Professor Mike Bradshaw, Department of Geography, University of
Leicester, University Road, Leicester, LE1 7RH. Tel: 0116 252 3842.
Fax: 0116 252 3854. Email: [log in to unmask]
Please use the following format for abstracts:
To be written in Word - Word 6 for a Mac/Word 95 for PC
Title: not exceeding 20 words; bold; 12 point; font = Times
Authors and Affiliation: italic, 10 point, Times
Abstract: no more than 200 words, 10 point, Times font
Keywords: 5
Line Spacing: 1.5 lines
**************************************************
Dr. Craig Young
Senior Lecturer in Geography,
Manchester Metropolitan University,
Department of Environmental and
Geographical Sciences,
John Dalton Building,
Chester Street,
Manchester,
M1 5GD.
Ph: 0161-247-6198/1602.
Fax: 0161-247-6318.
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
**************************************************
|