Extended Call for Papers: Association of American Geographers (AAG) Annual Meeting 2014, Tampa, FL, April 8-12
Session: Criminology and Geography: Order and Conflict in Public Space
Convened by Lucas Melgaço, Mattias de Backer (Department of Criminology, Vrije Universiteit Brussels - VUB)
& Georgiana Varna (Scottish Cities Knowledge Centre)
In the late-modern practices of urban development and reordering, a plethora of processes, such as gentrification, privatization, surveillance and exclusion have been taking place, leading to the exclusion of certain categories of people. The predominant phenomenon of the privatisation of public space (Sorkin, 1992; Davis, 1998; Zukin, 2000; Atkinson, 2003), coupled with a higher rate of control and surveillance measures (Lofland, 1998; Davis, 1998, Lyon, 2001), especially after 9/11, has not only led to increased social exclusion, but also to the further erosion of public space itself.
At the same time, temporary appropriation of public space by certain groups is viewed mostly in terms of nuisance and conflict. In the contemporary city it has become unclear what is meant when we say space is “public”. Do the various users have the same right to the city? Which (in)formal rules guide conduct in “shared” spaces? How are the crowds disciplined into “proper” conduct? Moreover, who decides what is meant by “public order”?
One of the potential battlegrounds between the fields of geography and criminology lies exactly here. Although order and conflict in public spaces are common subjects in these fields, the dialogue between them is still incipient. This session aims to promote such debate by collecting papers from both areas, as well other relevant perspectives. We welcome submissions on any aspect of the relationship between criminology and geography (and other associated fields) and particularly encourage papers on (but not limited to):
Order and Conflict in Public Space;
Policing and Surveillance in Public Spaces;
Resistance Strategies;
Cultural Criminology;
The Use of Public Spaces by Youth;
Privatization of Public Spaces;
Gentrification & Environmental Criminology;
New Practices and Emerging Forms of Public Space:
Public Demonstrations;
The Occupy Movement;
The Black Bloc phenomenon;
Methodological and Theoretical Overlaps between Criminology and Geography;
Applicants should submit a 250-word abstract, including a preliminary title, to Lucas Melgaço ([log in to unmask]), Mattias de Backer ([log in to unmask]) and Georgiana Varna ([log in to unmask]) no later than November 30, 2013. Successful submissions will be announced on December 1st, 2013. Presenters of accepted papers will also need to register for the Annual Meeting (see http://www.aag.org/cs/annualmeeting/register), submit their abstract online, and provide their PIN by December 2nd, 2013.
Please contact the organizers if you have any questions.
For more information about the 2013 AAG Annual Meeting, please visit www.aag.org/annualmeeting.