Apologies for cross posting!

Dear List member,

The Centre for Tourism and Cultural Change at Sheffield Hallam University and Sheffield University wish to inform/ remind you of
our upcoming conference:


Steel Cities: Tradition, Transition and Transformation 

Sheffield, UK. 

June 29th- July 2nd 2006

Keynote Speakers

The Right Honourable David Blunkett M.P.
Wolfgang Christ (Bauhaus-Universität Weimar)
Barbara Johnstone (Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh)/ Scott Kiesling (University of Pittsburgh) 

For nearly two centuries steel has been the fundamental building block of modernity, revolutionising the lives of millions. From
its use in building and construction, in weapons production, to its role in the home kitchen, the transformative power of steel is
undeniable. At all stages of its life-cycle, steel impacts upon communities, regions and nations. As China and India race to
modernise their economies with imported steel, many cities across Europe and North America are still struggling to cope with the
transition from productive to consumptive economies. The focus of this conference is upon the ways in which economies and
societies, lives, landscapes and relationships have been, and continue to be, transformed by steel. 

The 'Steel Cities' conference will bring together academics and professionals from a wide range of disciplines to explore the ways
by which steel has impacted upon people, places and pasts and how it continues to shape lives and relationships in the context of
local and global change. It will take place in Sheffield, England's most famous 'Steel City', and will be led by the University of
Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University in collaboration with a number of partners who are interested in discussing their
research and sharing and disseminating good practice. The conference will be multi-disciplinary drawing from architecture,
history, sociology, anthropology, ethnology, cultural studies, geography, tourism studies, museum studies, ethnology, linguistics,
economics etc. 

Themes of interest to the conference include:
*		Labour relations and working environments in the steel sector
*		The uses of steel in contemporary life
*		Histories and ethnographies of steel communities
*		Identity and belonging in 'steel cities' 
*		Representations of steel and the steel industry in the 'popular' media
*		The role of the cultural industries (arts, sport, tourism, etc.) in the regeneration of 'steel cities'
*		The languages of steel cities 
*		Heritages of the steel industry
*		Symbolic economies of steel - iconography, art and design

Steel Tourism
The steel rails of the world's railways provided the basic infrastructure for early modern tourism. Today, old iron and steel
works provide sites for leisure tourism. Steel as both a fundamental, functional, interior fabric and a symbolic, highly visible
substance permeates the structures, flows, practices and narratives of contemporary tourism. Indeed steel, though not exclusively,
can be viewed as a pre-condition for modern international tourism. 

As part of the wider programme of the Steel Cities Conference - see above - we invite researchers from all disciplines to reflect
upon the function, form and emblematic nature of steel within tourism and travel in past, present and future contexts.  Indicative
themes of interest include:

*	Material diasporas: trade, tourism and the diffusion of material culture
*	Tourism and imaginaries of steel making: Between nostalgia and fantasy
*	Technological innovation in the structures and mobilities of international tourism and hospitality
*	Steel 'works' - tourism and the problems and possibilities of urban regeneration 
*	Alchemists, Blacksmiths and Magicians: Travel and the diffusion of knowledge
*	Excalibur or the metaphorical journey from stone to iron: Travel, popular culture and pragmatic narratives of iron and
steel

We have already received a number of interesting abstracts from a wide range of disciplines, which will appear on the conference
website. We are happy to receive further abstracts on any topic relating to the conference theme, but are especially looking for
papers in the following areas:

*	Steel Heritage and Tourism
*	Transforming Steel Landscapes for Tourism
*	Tourist Experiences in Steel Cities

Please send abstracts of no more than 500 words by April 17th 2006 to: [log in to unmask]

Professor Mike Robinson
Director, Centre for Tourism and Cultural Change
Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change (www.channelviewpublications.com)
Sheffield Hallam University
Howard Street
Sheffield
S1 1WB, UK

Please visit: www.shef.ac.uk/natcect/steelcities and www.tourism-culture.com