 |
 |
Capturing the landscape of the conference
Convenors:
Anna McLauchlan and Susan Fitzpatrick
Conferences, such as the RGS (with IBG) International Conference, circulate academic knowledges while enabling experts to performatively (re)form academic boundaries (Craggs and Mahoney 2014). Recognition that researchers’ mere co-presence doesn’t necessarily foster interaction or engagement with each others ideas led a recent study of the Association of American Geographers (AAG) conference to focus on interaction within paper and panel sessions (Derudder and Lui, 2016). Although sessions take place in designated buildings and rooms, the conference also happens as delegates are in transit, stumbling around the streets of Cardiff, or, communicating online.
This
session seeks proposals that aim to capture any facet of the landscape of this
conference. Timetabled for the final parallel slot on Friday, participants have
the thrill of composing or finessing their presentation in-situ. Any method or
approach to the research can be taken: from analysis of ‘naturally’ occurring
twitter feeds to ‘in-the-wild’ activities of action research or other
participatory methods; approaches can be multiple and mixed. The only condition
- all data or details used must directly relate to The Royal Geographical
Society (with IBG) Annual International Conference and in some way incorporate
the 2018 gathering. You are free to choose the presentation format although
there may be some necessary limits on duration.
Please
send Anna McLauchlan ([log in to unmask]) a proposal containing an indicative title together with an outline of
your intended approach to information gathering and presentation format (no
more than 250 words) by Friday 27 April 2018.
As the collection of information may be opportunistic accepted proposals can be
radically rethought in advance of your presentation.
Suggested readings:
Bruce Braun (2003) Introduction: Tracking the power geometries of international critical geography. Environment and Planning D. 21(2), pp.131–133.
Ruth Craggs and Martin Mahony (2014) The geographies of the conference: Knowledge, performance and protest. Geography Compass. 8(6), pp.414–430.
Ben Derudder and Xingjian Liu (2016) How international is the Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers? A social network analysis perspective. Environment and Planning A. 48(2), pp.309-329.
Johan R. Edelheim, Kimberly Thomas, Kajsa G. Åberg and Giang Phi (2017) What do conferences do? What is academics’ intangible return on investment (ROI) from attending an academic tourism conference?. Journal of Teaching in Travel & Tourism. 18(1), pp.94-107.
Don Mitchell (2005) Landscape, in, David Atkinson, Peter Jackson, David Sibley and Neil Washbourne (eds) Cultural geography: a critical dictionary of key concepts. London and New York: I.B.Tauris.
Donald J. Nicholson (2017) Academic conferences
as neoliberal commodities. Gewerbestrasse: Palgrave Macmillan (Springer).
Dr Anna McLauchlan
Lecturer in Critical Human Geography
School of Geography | University of Leeds | Leeds LS2 9JT
Tel: +44 (0)113 343 8244
Email: [log in to unmask]