A geography of small things: geographies of architecture beyond the high rise

Research Group Affiliation(s): Social and Cultural Geography Research Group

Session Convenor(s)

Rachel Hunt (Durham University, UK)
Julia Heslop (Durham University, UK)

[log in to unmask]">Much of the recent body of work classified as geographies of architecture is directly or implicitly inspired by Jane M. Jacobs, who in 2006 called for attention to ‘the geography of big things’. Her ‘big thing’ was a residential high-rise building. This ‘self-conscious …. Recusit[tation] (Jacobs 2006:1) of a geographical attention to buildings spawned new work, attending to topics including and beyond the built form. Her work sought renewed attention to the thing, to its fragmented nature and to the networks involved in its production, effectively calling for work to understand that built things are themselves built of many things. As the title of this session suggests, while inspired by Jacobs’ work, what we call for here are papers which instead offer a geography of ‘small things’. 

This session seeks to bring together researchers who are focusing on the smaller material entities in the built world, including, but by no means defined by, huts, homes, sheds, shacks, cabins, yurts, barns, bothies and boats. This includes temporary structures, mobile accommodations, buildings which encourage a relationship with the world out with them, buildings which signify one’s place in society, places which can be read as more than the materials from which they are made. Such a session will therefore seek to explore contemporary research with a geography of architecture and the way in which it is attending to new types of spaces. 
This session encourages scholars from the arts, architecture, humanities and geography, as well as other relevant fields to offer insights into an emerging geography of small things, in this instance, buildings. We also want to encourage entries from new and emerging scholars. 

Session will involve five 15 minute presentations each with 5 minutes for questions.

Instructions for Authors

Please send abstracts of 250 words Dr Rachel Hunt (University of Durham) [log in to unmask] by the 10th of February 2017. These should include a title, author affiliation and email address.

Call For Papers Deadline

10-Feb-2017

 

 

Dr Rachel Hunt

Durham University Teaching Fellow

Room 504

Tel 01913341938