HEART OF THE CITY: BLACK URBAN LIFE ON 'THE WIRE'


January 29-30, 2009
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan


Sponsored by
The Black Humanities Collective
and The Center for Afroamerican and African Studies



***
Reminders/Updates:


ABSTRACTS/PROPOSALS DUE ON DECEMBER 1: Please email to
heartofthecityconference_at_gmail.com


NEW WEBSITE LAUNCHED:
http://sitemaker.umich.edu/heart_of_the_city/heart_of_the_city


CONFIRMED KEYNOTE GUESTS: Clark Johnson (Director,"Gus Haynes") and Sonja
Sohn ("Kima Greggs")


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HEART OF THE CITY: BLACK URBAN LIFE ON 'THE WIRE'


Sponsored by
The Black Humanities Collective
and The Center for Afroamerican and African Studies


CALL FOR PAPERS
**Please distribute widely**


The Black Humanities Collective (BHC) and The Center for Afroamerican and
African Studies (CAAS) of the University of Michigan invite individual
paper and panel proposals for our 2009 symposium, "Heart of the City:
Black Urban Life on 'The Wire.'"


Critically acclaimed and nationally syndicated, HBO's series 'The Wire'
depicts a racialized postindustrial cityscape, marred by the brutal
provenance of the drug economy. In its five seasons, the series is as
much a dramatic achievement as it is a complex portrait of a black urban
experience. Featuring a predominantly black cast, 'The Wire' is an
exceptional cultural text from which to examine a wide range of urban
issues, to be approached from literary, historical, political, and
sociological perspectives.


This symposium proposes a critical consideration of 'The Wire,' which
treats the show as both a topic and a model of critique. Our aim is to
create a space that is open and interdisciplinary. Graduate students,
professors, and independent scholars working in the Humanities, the Arts,
Social Sciences, Public Policy, and elsewhere are encouraged to join this
collective discussion. In this sense, 'The Wire' can serve as a common
point of discussion, as a viable vehicle of social engagement in its own
right and a text worthy of careful and extended
investigation.


Potential paper/panel topics include:


• Urban Renewal and Decline


• Race, Place, and Visual Culture


• The Black Family


• The City as a Transnational Conduit


• Critical Masculinities and Femininities


• Media Ethics and Issues of Representation


• Sex and Sexualities in the City


• (Counter-)Public and (Counter-)Private Spheres


• Pedagogy and Educational Practice


• City and Regional Planning


• Performance and Performativity in Urban Space



To submit a paper or panel proposal, please send a 250 word abstract via
email to heartofthecityconference_at_gmail.com. Abstracts and proposals are
due Monday, December 1, 2008. Acceptance notifications will be emailed
by Monday December 15, 2008.


The Black Humanities Collective is an interdisciplinary graduate student
and faculty organization at the University of Michigan dedicated to the
intellectual and professional development of those studying Africa and
its diaspora.




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Ogunleye, Yemisi (Miss)
www.iq4news.com

Head of Communications,
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website: http://www.meccsa.org.uk/pgn/

Media & Communications Dept.,
Birmingham City University,
City North Campus,
Birmingham
B42 2SU