*Apologies for cross-posting*
2nd Call for Papers Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting 2011; Seattle, April 12th-16th
Between absence and presence: hiding, dissimulation, invisibility, and silence
Organisers: Rhys Dafydd Jones, James Robinson and Jennifer Turner; Aberystwyth University.
Throughout history, ‘absence’ and ‘presence’ have been and continue to be utilised as a means of exercising control and reinforcing power relations; the former denies the existence of difference, while the latter defines ‘other’ as deviant. In the works of Foucault and others, much focus has been given to an examination of ‘presence’, whereas ‘absence’ has received far less attention, despite being entwined into everyday events and processes (Katz 2001; Dunn 2004). Certainly, acts of concealing and hiding may be considered to be reflex-like defence mechanisms, allowing the protection of individual places and spaces as well as the evasion of encounters with those who ‘police’ and control space. Such responses to power strategies have often invoked the language of subservience, which contends that such practices represent examples of ‘false consciousness’ and ‘docility’. However, we would argue that such readings only take partial account of social interactions. In line with Scott (1985, 1990), we argue they ignore dissimulation, a tactical manipulation of power that can be(come) a resourceful tactic of the ‘weak’.
This session proposes a dialogue between more theoretical treatments of absence, presence, and power with empirically informed discussions to address the following points:
- How are various practices employed to conceal/silence particular groups?
- How do individuals and groups distract attention from themselves and how are such absences used tactically to meet their own ends?
- What are the methodological implications for studying concealed and absent spaces and groups?
- How do issues of absence/invisibility/silence relate to experiences, conceptualisations, and the production of landscape, space, and place?
Please send abstract of no more than 250 words to James Robinson, [log in to unmask] by Wednesday, October 20th 2010.
References:
Dunn, K. (2004) ‘Islam in Sydney: Contesting the Discourse of Absence’ Australian Geographer 35 pp333-353
Katz, C. (2001) ‘Hiding the Target: Social Reproduction in the Privatized Urban Environment’ in Minca, C. (Ed.) Postmodern Geography: Theory and Praxis; London: Blackwell.
Scott, J.C. (1990) Domination and the Arts of Resistance: Hidden Transcripts; New Haven: Yale University Press.
Scott, J.C. (1985) Weapons of the Weak: Everyday Forms of Peasant Resistance; New Haven: Yale University Press.
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