A few points raised in the discussion so far that i'd like to pick
up on:
1)I accept that the whole question is not 'either/or' but rather
'both/and' as Steve suggests - I suppose it was the 'and' bit that I
thought was a bit lacking. Along these lines I think Steve's idea
concerning the 'posting' of papers is an excellent idea - I would perhaps
add that what could be even better would be the initiation of a web page,
linked to the CFG page, which would hold downloadable transripts from all
the contributors, along possibly with contributions from people at the
conference (in terms of the events and discussion groups etc that take
place 'out there') - I don't know if it would be possible to update this
as the conference proceeded - might be a tad too optimistic! - but it's a
good idea in theory and would certainly add to the accessibility factor
for people unable to attend. This in fact raises lots of questions
relating to the actual need to see people face-to-face in order to
exchange ideas - are we not part of a continuing 'conference' through
contributing to this list? Could the possiblities offerred us by this
technology be exploited further - think virtual conference instead of
imagined constituency!? Far more accessible, far less costly.
2)In addition, and I think this harks back to ideas that were floating
around after the last IBG, the development of a regional network, not of
a 'I'll be the south of eastern England/Australia/Israel representative'
type, but rather in terms of active groupings of interested participants,
be they academics, postgraduates or undergraduates, in the form of, say, the
at-present-dormant-but-still-dangerous Northen Universities Reading Group.
Although this would probably entail some over-riding structure ( or would
it...?) it would at least again maximise accessibility for a wider range of
possible contributors to discussions concerning radical and critical
geographies.
3)A fellow postgrad here in the East Riding riviera asked whether this
list was merely a vehicle for 'formalising' the Critical Geography Forum,
or whether it was a radical and critical entity in itself; the latter
scenario he thinks being far more attractive, and given the discussions
surrounding the IBG/RGS debacle, what he thought the CGF was all about....
Now _that's_ mischievous!
***************************************
Duncan Fuller
School of Geography and Earth Resources
University of Hull
Cottingham Road
Hull
HU6 7RX
Phone: 01482 466332
Fax: 01482 466340
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|