Dear all,
Perhaps I'm alone here in feeling slightly scared by the idea of geographers
on a 'mission' 'invading, capturing and exposing' a city. This sort of
language, considering our disciplinary history, is potentially dangerous. We
should not engage in missions, but instead build solidarities through what
we already share. That this is 'secret' is even more worrying. Why be
furtive? Do we have something to hide? We should not invade and capture, but
instead seek to make friends, to explain ourselves. We should not expose a
city - the practices therein, yes - but seek to understand it.
I'm sure this is a worthy event. But let's be a little more careful, a
little more thoughtful, a little more critical... Canterbury as a city is
certainly riddled with contradictions. It has a past that was often
simultaneously embracing of certain 'strangers' and yet violently hostile to
others. It contains three universities - Kent, Christ Church, UCA - but is
still in the shadow of the Church of England.
All the best,
Carl.
On 15/9/09 10:36, "Daniel Raven-Ellison" <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
> Please pass this around to anyone that might be interested...
>
>
> URBAN EARTH EVENT: CANTERBURY
> Invade. Capture. Expose.
>
> Tickets: http://urbanearthcanterbury.eventbrite.com/
> 15% off regular tickets with the code 'critgeog' if you book before
> 30.09.2009.
>
> Invade, capture and expose Canterbury (UK) by joining over 60 people in this
> intimate URBAN EARTH weekend.
>
> It's all about the Event. An event that we're going to create for ourselves on
> the Saturday night. Based on a secret mission that aims to capture and expose
> the city that we're temporarily invading, groups will be challenged to create
> a
> film/performance/show ready to display at our event.
>
> FRIDAY 29.01.2010
> Arriving. Eating. Briefing. Planning. Sleeping.
>
> SATURDAY 30.01.2010
> Eating. Exploring. Creating. Event(ing). Playing. Dancing.
>
> SUNDAY 31.01.2010
> Eating. Leaving. Sharing.
>
> How it works...
> 1. On arrival you'll be placed into a group. We'll be mixing things up, but if
> you
> are keen to hold hands with someone we can help make that happen too.
> 2. After eating on Friday night we'll hold a mission briefing (around 9pm).
> The
> brief will be to capture and expose Canterbury... but we'll be leaving the
> specifics a secret until then.
> 3. Canterbury is open for missions to be carried out. By Saturday night
> films/shows/performances should ready to go and at 10pm EVENT:
> CANTERBURY will begin.
>
> Who can come?
> Anyone who is over 18. If you're interested in exploring our urban world and
> sharing what you've discovered in an interesting way we'd love to have you
> along.
>
> What will I need?
> You'll need to have a video camera, camera, laptop, sound recorder, type
> writer, wool or whatever you like to work with. There is bedding at the
> hostel,
> but feel free to be even more warm and comfy by bringing your own too. Food,
> coffee and tea are included in the ticket, other drinks are left to you.
> How do I get to Canterbury?
>
> Canterbury is 98km south east of London. It takes around 90 minutes to get
> there by train from London, around 3.5 hours from Birmingham and 10 hours
> from Aberdeen. To check out the roads take a look at the map on this page or
> whack the hostel's postcode (CT1 3DT) into your preferred mapping service.
> What is URBAN EARTH?
>
> Visit www.urbanearth.co.uk or http://urbanearth.ning.com to find out more.
>
> What does the cost of the ticket cover?
> Two nights in a shared single sex room, food, some random bits and bobs as
> well as our efforts to make it happen. Any money left over will be used to
> fund
> the next URBAN EARTH EVENT.....
>
> -----
> You may also want to join...
>
> URBAN EARTH: WEST YORKSHIRE URBAN AREA
> Free on Saturday 10.10.09? Join us for a walk across Leeds.
>
> URBAN EARTH: LONDON
> A 60+km walk across Greater London over three days (30.10.09 - 01.11.09).
>
> Sign up for these walks and post your own at http://urbanearth.ning.com
>
>
> Many thanks,
>
> Daniel
>
> Daniel Raven-Ellison
> URBAN EARTH
>
> 07920 116 748
________________________________________________
Dr. Carl J. Griffin,
Lecturer in Human Geography,
School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology,
Queen's University,
Belfast,
BT7 1NN
web: http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/gap/Staff/AcademicStaff/DrCarlGriffin/
<http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/gap/Staff/AcademicStaff/DrCarlGriffin/>
e-mail: [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Tel: +44 (0)28 90973394
Fax: +44 (0)28 9097321280
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