Apologies for cross-posting
AAG Annual Meeting Chicago 7-11 March 2006
*Call for Papers: Geographies of Urban Conduct*
Proposed paper session to be organized by Kurt Iveson (University of
Sydney) and Joe Painter (Durham University).
Michel Foucault famously identified the 'conduct of conduct' as the
central problem of modern government. The very idea of liberal
government involves a paradox: liberalism asserts the sovereignty of the
free individual, yet government requires that individual behaviour be
regulated and modified. This dilemma is expressed acutely in many
contemporary cities. The activities of disparate groups including
graffiti writers, homeless people, radical preachers, disruptive youths,
drug users, political protesters, so-called 'neighbours from hell' and
others have come to be categorized as 'anti-social behaviour' that
threatens 'decent people', 'communities', 'public order' or even 'our
way of life'. The threat of 'anti-social behaviour' is met through the
development and deployment of a variety of governance techniques and
technologies designed to modify the personal conduct of the
'anti-social'. Such techniques include anti-social behaviour orders,
parenting orders, acceptable behaviour contracts, zero-tolerance
policing initiatives, government support for faith-based morality
campaigns, curfews, alcohol-free zones, and campaigns to encourage
public vigilance and reporting.
This session will examine how these state efforts to shape personal
conduct to instil 'respect' and to outlaw 'unpatriotic' behaviour are
affecting urban life. We invite proposals for papers on this theme.
Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
- Governmentality and 'action at a distance'
- The social geographies of 'anti-social' behaviour
- The urban politics of 'anti-social' behaviour
- The geopolitics of 'anti-social' behaviour
- The circulation/replication of 'anti-social' behaviour policies across
cities and internationally
- The legal regulation of personal conduct
- Social movements, responses and resistance
- Urban citizenship
Enquiries about the session are welcome.
Please email an abstract of your paper (250 words max) to both the
session organizers as soon as possible and by Monday 3 October at the
latest.
Kurt Iveson ([log in to unmask])
Joe Painter ([log in to unmask])
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