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Posted on behalf of Caroline Bressey: Mapping Blackness Call for Papers Annual Conference of the Association of American Geographers, Boston 15-19 April 2008 http://www.aag.org/annualmeetings/2008/papers.htm Convenor s Caroline Bressey, UCL and Paul Goodwin, Goldsmiths College Geographical metaphors and practices of mapping have increasingly infused studies of Blackness in the Americas and Europe. These have ranged from theoretical interventions, the historical mapping of the Black presence, issues around health, social, educational and economic life, and creative interventions around Black identity. This session seeks to discuss how these modes of representation have impacted upon the production and mobilisation of Blackness. It also seeks to ask how Black identity has been constituted and reconstituted through these debates. Possible paper topics include: - The use of maps by artists exploring aspects of Black history and contemporary identity. - Historical geographies of the Black Presence in Europe, the Americas, and the Pacific. - Recent mapping projects undertaken by galleries, archivists and community groups. - The use of spatial metaphors in developing geographical imaginations of the African Diaspora. - The mapping of inequality and its impact on anti-racist projects. - The possibilities for GIS technologies in mapping Blackness. Participants may wish to: - Present findings from historical or contemporary research projects. - Consider the methodological and theoretical impact of the Black experience on geographical theory, urban theory and the emerging interdisciplinary field of ‘spatial practices’ and debate. - Discuss the methodological and practical problems (within the academy and beyond) of conducting such research. - Discuss the changing media representations of Blackness post-9/11. Please send an abstract of no more than 200 words to both Caroline Bressey [log in to unmask] and Paul Goodwin [log in to unmask] by 15 October 2007. Dr Caroline Bressey ESRC Research Fellow Department of Geography University College London 26 Bedford Way LONDON WC1H OAP