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Call for Papers, apologies for cross-posting Conference: RGS-IBG Annual Meeting, 31st August to 2nd September 2011, London. Session: 'Emerging from the dark': explorations into the experiences of the night Organizers: Robert Shaw (Durham University) and James Robinson (Aberystwyth University) Sponsors: Social and Cultural Geography Research Group For many of us, the night represents a seemingly mundane part of our everyday lives and routines. As predominantly diurnal beings, the night signifies that opportunity whereby we sleep, rest or carry out maintenance and renewal; in line with this, it has been imagined that this is a time period in which very little happens. However, the activities of a variety of human and non-human actors do in fact take place 'around the clock'. Certainly, this has been acknowledged in academic work which has engaged in studies into the night-time economy, nocturnal labour politics and social night-life. More focused and in-depth analysis of the night and the coinciding experiences of darkness have, however, been absent from mainstream debates within social, cultural, and political geography. The focus of this session is to encourage a wide variety of academic and geographical engagements with the nocturnal and, in particular, to open up research which imagines differently the geographies of the night. Such research would thus examine how different bodies (human/non-human/organisational) operate in night-time conditions. We, therefore, seek papers which explore, amongst other things, the night-time transformation of individual or institutional practices or, indeed, the relationships and connections existing between human and non-human actants in times of darkness. Furthermore, we invite papers which examine, more explicitly, the novel and unique geographies that are enabled through the different emotional, affectual and experiential conditions of the night. Papers may wish to address some of the issues raised below: * the different mobilities of the nocturnal * the role of domestic space at night * the night-time economy of urban and rural spaces * cultural representations and experiences of the night * gendered experiences of the urban night * non-human actants and their responses to human society at night * the proliferation and operation of technologies and infrastructures of the night * the various coping mechanisms or tools deployed by organisations to assist night-time operations * nocturnal conflicts Please send abstracts of no more than 250 words to both Rob ([log in to unmask]) and James ([log in to unmask]) by 4 February 2011. _______________________________________________________ [log in to unmask] An urban geography discussion and announcement forum List Archives: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/URB-GEOG-FORUM Maintained by: RGS-IBG Urban Geography Research Group UGRG Home Page: http://www.urban-geography.org.uk