CALL FOR PAPERS
Royal Geographical Society-Institute of British Geographers Annual
Conference, University of Plymouth, UK, 2-5 January 2001

The RGS-IBG Post-Socialist Geographies Research Group is organising a
number of sessions at this conference which may be of interest to
anyone researching on post-socialist areas.

Brief session titles are given below, followed by full details of the
sessions for those who wish more information.

1)  ‘Post-Socialism: (dis)-continuities’:
 a. ‘Russia ‘ten years after’ and ‘post-Yeltsin’’
b.  ‘Airbrushing the past? History, memory and (place) identity
formation in  post-socialist transformation’
2)  ‘Post-graduate research on post-socialism’ 
3)  ‘Reflections on "Socio-Nature": new approaches to
human-environment interactions’ Joint with DARG 
4)  ‘Gender into the future’ Joint with WGSG

Anyone wishing to submit a paper for consideration should submit their
name, contact details (including e-mail) and a 100-200 word abstract
to the session convenors indicated below by May 31st 2000. Please
contact session convenors for any further information.

1)  There will be a full day session on ‘Post-Socialism:
(dis)-continuities’ which will examine various theoretical and
empirical aspects of continuities and dis-continuities during the
post-socialist transformation. After a module on invited theoretical
papers on transformation, three further modules are open for proposals
of papers:

· one module will focus on ‘Russia: ten years after’ and particularly
the state of transformation in Russia in the post-Yeltsin era.
Potential contributors should contact: Dr Mike Bradshaw, School of
Geography and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham,
Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, tel: 0121-414-5535; fax:
0121-414-5528; e-mail: [log in to unmask] 
· two further modules
will focus on the topic of ‘Airbrushing the past? History, memory and
identity formation in post-socialist transformation’. This session
invites contributions on the ‘modern historical geographies’ of
post-socialist transformation. In particular, it focuses on how
representations of the Socialist era are utilised or obscured in the
processes of creating new national and place identities as the
post-socialist countries attempt to reposition themselves in their
global contexts. The statuary and monuments of Socialist iconography,
for example, was hastily torn down in many countries but is now being
collected in theme parks which divide public opinion of how to deal
with the Socialist past; the iconography of money and of place
marketing often cuts out any reference to the period 1945-89 in the
creation of identity; public attitudes to Socialist architecture and
buildings reflect a convoluted relationship with meaning in the
post-Socialist built environment; and literature, television and film
represent the past in various ways. All of these meanings are consumed
and contested in various ways through their consumption by both the
inhabitants of post-socialist countries and people external to them.
Offers of papers which address any of these issues are welcome,
contact: Dr Craig Young, Environmental and Geographical Sciences,
Manchester Metropolitan University, John Dalton Building, Manchester,
M1 5GD. [log in to unmask]


2)  There will be a half-day session (two modules) on ‘Post-graduate
research on post-socialism’. The intention of these sessions is to
provide a forum for post-graduate researchers working on
post-socialist areas to share their research experience and problems
in a supportive atmosphere and to present and discuss key research
findings. All post-graduates are welcome. Potential contributors
should contact: Alex Wynn, School of Geography and Environmental
Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, 
([log in to unmask]) or Craig Young (address above)
([log in to unmask]). 

3)  ‘Reflections on "Socio-Nature": new approaches to
human-environment interactions’ Joint DARG/PSG Half Session (two
modules).

This half-module showcases innovative contributions to current debates
about the reciprocal and mutually constitutive interrelations between
social action and the environment. While most research to date has
focused on the effects of human activities on environmental
conditions, much less attention has been devoted to considerations of
the return arrow of causation: the impact the constitution of "the
environment" as having different sorts of properties (e.g.
"harvestable timber") has on human activities.  This is perhaps
somewhat surprising given the recent proliferation of interest in
actor network theory, social constructionism, neo-marxism and
post-structuralist environment theories.  It is perhaps even more
surprising that geographers of "transition" and "development" have not
more strongly engaged these critical currents, given the problematic
hegemony of the "Western geographical imaginary" in our research

We therefore invite paper proposals for this half module that address
different aspects of this dialectic process of human-environmental
interconstitution in different "developing world" or "transition"
contexts.  Ideally we hope to assemble 6-8 papers treating issues
related to "socio-nature" in as wide variety of empirical contexts as
possible in order to help set the stage for more robust and inclusive
engagement.

Enquiries, paper titles and 150 word abstracts will be received until
May 31, 2000 by:

Chad Staddon, School of Geography and Environmental Management,
University of the West of England, Coldharbour Lane, Bristol, BS16
1QY,  tel/fax: (44 117) 344-3214/3004; e-mail:
[log in to unmask]

Tassilo Herrschel, Department of Social Studies, University of
Westminster, Regent Campus, 309 Regent Street, London, tel/fax: (44 
171) 911-5100/5106; e-mail: [log in to unmask]

4)  ‘Gender into the future’ Joint session with WGSG

This session will bring together a wide range of perspectives on
gender aiming to critically interrogate the meaning of ‘gender’ and
‘gender politics’ at the beginning of the C21st in a variety of
contexts. Contributions are welcome from those working on these topics
in post-socialist areas.

For further details contact: Dr Kathrin Hoerschelmann, Geographical
Sciences, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AA.
Tel: 01752-233068, fax: 01752-233054, e-mail:
[log in to unmask]

**************************************************
Dr. Craig Young
Senior Lecturer in Geography,
Manchester Metropolitan University,
Department of Environmental and 
Geographical Sciences,
John Dalton Building,
Chester Street,
Manchester,
M1 5GD.

Ph: 0161-247-6198/1602.
Fax: 0161-247-6318.
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
**************************************************


%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%