Apologies for cross-postings. Please note the deadline of August 1, 2007 for submitting abstracts.


CALL FOR PAPERS

14th Annual Mini-Conference on Critical Geography

Department of Geography, University of Kentucky, October 4-6, 2007

Conference web site: http://www.uky.edu/AS/Geography/CriticalGeo/index.php



Scope of the Conference

This two-day conference aims to provide an inclusive venue for the broad discussion of themes in critical geography. In recent years, papers and panels have been presented on a broad array of topics, and possible topics for presentation could include:

Cities and Citizenship • Gentrification & Urban Struggles • Peace Studies

• Political Ecology • Contemporary policy issues

• Interactions between Human and Physical Geographies • Critical Geopolitics • GIS and Society • Post-colonial issues

• Cultural Politics • Globalization • Marxian Studies • Race and identity

• Cyber spaces • Institutional economics • Space, place & power

• Emotional Geographies • Local politics or economies • Social Movements

• Environmental degradation and development • Sustainability

• Extreme geography • Migration, Transnationalism & Post-nationalism • Terrorism • Gender  • Urban ecology • Neoliberalism & the city

.

This list of topics is not meant to be exhaustive. We encourage those interested in participating to explore any range of interests and to use the conference as an opportunity to expand their current research agenda, explore new theoretical landscapes, and/or receive feedback on works in progress.

Organization

This year’s conference will begin on Thursday evening at 5:30 (Oct. 4, 2007) with an opening chord (rather than a keynote address) on the topic of Social and Environmental Justice. Panelists will be Bruce Braun (University of Minnesota), Caroline Desbiens (Laval University), Jim Glassman (University of British Columbia), and Melissa Wright (Penn State University).  The opening chord will be followed by an off-campus reception beginning at 7:00.  Due to expanded interest in the conference over the past several years, we currently plan to have sessions on Friday and on Saturday morning.

Because we wish to provide a forum for discussion of themes in, and the nature of, critical geography, interested participants should feel free to suggest ways of presenting their research, ideas, and art beyond formal the traditional confines of paper sessions. We shall attempt to accommodate performances, round tables, panels and other communicative fora. If you are unsure about the practicability of a particular format, please contact the organizers:

Morgan Robertson ([log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>)

            Patricia Ehrkamp ([log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>)

            Anna Secor ([log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>)

            Mathias Detamore ([log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>)



Deadline for Submission of Abstracts: The target deadline for proposing a panel, roundtable, or submitting a paper to the mini-conference is August 1, 2007. Submit abstracts or proposals for panels/roundtables/performances (including title of the paper/session and contact information) to [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> or [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>.

Format

Panels and Roundtable Discussions

If you wish to organize a panel or roundtable (or an entirely different format), please provide a panel title and the contact information for all panelists/participants. Titles for individual contributions (if relevant) should also be provided. Panel organizers are responsible for the specific allocation of time and structure of the panel session. Please note that we reserve the right to add a panelist to previously organized panels if the topics fit.

Paper Presentations

Paper presenters should submit a paper title, abstract, and contact information by the submission deadline. Paper sessions will include 3 papers and a discussant (90 minutes, generally fifteen minutes per paper, with time reserved at the end for discussion).  In mid-August 2007, sessions will be organized and discussants will be identified; paper presenters should forward their paper to the discussant via e-mail by September 27. The purpose of the discussant is to begin group discussion of the ideas and concepts presented in the paper. Consequently, discussants should be provided with the presentation materials as soon as possible.



Brief History of the Conference: The Conference on Critical Geography returns to the University of Kentucky

The first Mini-Conference on Critical Human Geography was held at the University of Cincinnati in 1994, when Byron Miller (Calgary, formerly University of Cincinnati), Kevin Cox (Ohio State), and J.P. Jones (Arizona, formerly of University of Kentucky) gathered in the moot court chambers of the University of Cincinnati Law School.  Since then, the Conference has grown to become one of the most challenging and stimulating venues for intellectual exchange in critical geography.  Although its location has moved in close orbit around the Ohio River valley since leaving the University of Cincinnati for the University of Kentucky in 2002, the Conference has come to be recognized by geographers and other critical social scientists as a valuable forum in which everyone from beginning graduate students to senior faculty can interact and exchange ideas in a small-conference setting.
This year, the organizers affirm the expanding profile of the Conference and its national interest by crossing out the “Mini-crit” sobriquet and instituting a modest but meaningful expansion of the scope and scale of the Conference.  It has become increasingly evident that this event is no longer “mini,” either in participation or in reputation.  In a spirit of affirmative negation without erasure we have modestly transformed the title of the conference to reflect the rhizomatic spread and intergalactic extent of mini/many critical geographies.


Year


Location





Hosts


1994


U of Cincinnati


B. Miller, K. Cox & J.P. Jones


1995


U of Cincinnati


B. Miller, K. Cox & J.P. Jones


1996


U of Cincinnati


B. Miller, K. Cox & J.P. Jones


1997


U of Cincinnati


B. Miller, K. Cox & J.P. Jones


1998


U of Cincinnati


B. Miller, K. Cox & J.P. Jones


1999


U of Cincinnati


B. Miller, K. Cox & J.P. Jones




2000


U of Cincinnati


A. Wood, K. Cox & J.P. Jones


2001


U of Cincinnati


H. Stafford, K. Cox & J.P. Jones


2002


U of Kentucky





J.P. Jones, M. England & J. West


2003


U of Illinois





D. Wilson, J. Ely, D. Beck, & A. Sengupta


2004


Indiana State U


J. Gattrell


2005


Miami U





P. Ehrkamp, T. Klak & B. D’Arcus


2006


Ohio State U





M. Thomas, M. Coleman & J. Wainwright




Accommodation and Events

University of Kentucky graduate students and faculty are willing to host graduate students in their homes as graduate student participation is crucial to the success of the conference. If you would like to stay with a University of Kentucky graduate student or faculty, please contact the conference organizers.

Note that the Friday of the conference is also the opening day for the fall season of horse racing at the Keeneland track in Lexington; conference attendees may wish to adjourn to Keeneland after the sessions.



For more information please contact one of the organizers.

Morgan Robertson ([log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>)

            Patricia Ehrkamp ([log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>)

            Anna Secor ([log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>)

            Mathias Detamore ([log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>)