Decolonizing Cascadia? Rethinking Critical Geographies Mini-Conference
November 16th and 17th
University of British Columbia, Point Grey Campus
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The seventh annual Critical Geographies Mini-Conference will be held at the University of British Columbia. Our emphasis is on creating a fun, engaging, and friendly atmosphere and embraces unsettling of the 'traditional' conference structure. We welcome a wide range of spatially-oriented critical scholarship and encourage creative media on various themes from geography and other disciplines. There is no fee to attend the conference and graduate students are particularly encouraged to apply.

Responding to conversations at previous mini-conferences, the plenary and panel discussions will centre on decolonization. Our speakers will lead a dialogue through which we will critically engage with (neo)colonial practices in knowledge production, pedagogies, academic institutions, and regionalisms. We are excited to announce that Dr. Margo Greenwood and Dr. Sarah de Leeuw will give our keynote address, sharing their work on decolonization and the 'new' settler colonial identity in various institutions such as the university. Dr. Glen Coulthard, Dr. Geraldine Pratt, and Harsha Walia will contribute their thoughts during a plenary response panel.

At this time we welcome you to submit paper and panel abstracts on a wide variety of geographical topics that may include, but are not limited to, those conceptualized from political economy, feminist, and post humanist perspectives. The papers need not address decolonization specifically. Abstracts should be 200 words or less and sent to [log in to unmask] by October 15th, 2012. Include your name, affiliation, paper title and abstract in the body of your email. Presenters will have approximately 15 minutes each. If you would like to organize a paper or panel session, please submit a full slate of 3 to 4 participants speaking to a common theme/approach. We particularly encourage collaborations between different universities in the region and collaborations between academics and non-academics. Our budget is limited, but if you would like to attend the conference and feel that you are unable to for financial reasons, please email us. All presenting and non-presenting conference attendees should register by October 21st, 2012 at http://www.geog.ubc.ca/cascadia2012/registration.html

Visit http://www.geog.ubc.ca/cascadia2012/ for more information on the conference as it becomes available.

We look forward to seeing you in November!

Decolonizing Cascadia Organizing Committee
7th Annual Cascadia Critical Geographies Mini-Conference
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With financial assistance from: UBC Department of Geography, Liu Institute for Global Issues, UBC Faculty of Graduate Studies, and UBC Graduate Student Society