Roads less travelled: The culture of shared air, marine, and land
mobility
A series of important contributions to the international and
interdisciplinary study of mobility over the past decade have shown the
centrality of automobility in Western societies and cultures.
Automobility stands as an icon of individualized freedom of movement,
late modern lifestyle, reliance on transportation technology for daily
living, as well as the advent and downward-spiralling of pollution,
(sub)urbanization, and consumerism. The study of automobility also
stands as an exception to the generalized paucity of knowledge on the
cultures of other practices of mobility. In contrast, little do we know,
for example, about the sociological, media-ecological, and
anthropological significance of non-individual (hence, shared) land,
air, and marine mobility. Acquiring additional knowledge about these
forms of mobility seems necessary if we wish to comprehend the cultural
meaningfulness of alternatives to the patently unsustainable dominant
medium of transportation of the day, the car.
As fuel prices rise, as petrol becomes less easily available worldwide,
and as the reflexive feeling of citizen responsibility for sustainable
mobility grows, it behoves scholars to understand the symbolic
significance of car-less lifestyles and countercultures of immobility.
The proposed book will collect 12 original ethnographic studies written
from a wide variety of social scientific fields and interdisciplinary
social sciences. Submissions of proposals for papers dealing with the
culture of marine mobility, air mobility, shared land mobility, and
immobility are invited.
Ideal proposals for ethnographic studies would look at the role played
by the mentioned modes of mobility in the everyday life of individuals
living in precise geographical contexts. Essays would focus on the
logic, experience, and practice of alternative mobility and its shaping
of the senses of space, time, identity, and community.
Essay topics would include, but are not limited to, ferry-boat
transportation, the culture of year-round sailboat travellers, the
mobility options and movement practices of remote island communities,
the experience of regional, national, and international airline travel,
the practice of bush pilot air travel, train and subway commuting, urban
bus transit, long-range coach travel, and also the experiences and
lifestyle of immobile individuals--those who wish to "maroon" themselves
within the confines of a unique space.
The deadline for proposals is March 1, 2008. Proposals should consist of
200 word abstracts emailed to the editor, Phillip Vannini:
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Expressions of interest, preliminary inquiries, and requests for further
information are welcomed at any time. Preliminary interest in the
project from an international publisher of academic titles has already
been expressed.
Phillip Vannini, PhD
Assistant Professor
School of Communication and Culture
2005 Sooke Road
Royal Roads University
Victoria BC V9B 5Y2
CANADA
Phone: (250) 391-2600 ext. 4477 (no voice mail)
Fax: (250) 391-2694
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