Apologies for cross-posting

Looking into the Modern Interior: 
History, Theory and Discipline in Education and Practice

A Joint Symposium of 
Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC), U.S.A &
Modern Interiors Research Center (MIRC), Kingston University, London

Atlanta, Georgia
March 23-24, 2010

Conference Hosts:
Bridget May, Ph.D. – Marymount University, Virginia
Anne Massey, Ph.D. - Kingston University, London

The Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC) and Modern Interiors Research 
Center (MIRC) are proud to sponsor a symposium centered on the modern 
interior, c. 1870 to the present. Abstracts are invited that explore the 
conference theme of history, theory and disciplinarity in the modern interior. 
The symposium proposes that the history, education and practice of interior 
design have a very particular and disciplinarily specific relationship, and asks 
what roles do history and theory have in the education and practice of interior 
design? Is the history of the modern interior best addressed from the 
perspective of architectural theory, art or design history, material culture, 
visual culture, business history or life writing? Or is it an interdisciplinary 
subject, defined ‘through’ practice, which allows us to explore and question 
boundaries between different approaches and methods? 

Subjects to be explored include, but are not limited to, issues of definitions 
and interpretations of the modern interior from a disciplinary and/or 
interdisciplinary perspective; examinations and re-examinations of the 
historiography of the modern interior; the social, political or cultural relevance 
of the modern interior in both history and practice; the role of individual 
interior decorators, designers and architects on the practice and history of the 
interior; significant people, firms and practices; the development and role of 
education in the modern interior. The aim of this joint symposium is to 
understand the practice of modern interior design through its histories, to 
understand how it interior design has been defined as a specific design 
discipline, and to identify champions of the modern interior and rebels who 
challenged its borderlines.

Submission Process
Abstracts of no more than 500 words should be attached to an email and sent 
by October 1, 2009 to Dr. Anne Massey, Kingston University, 
[log in to unmask] OR Dr. Mary Anne Beecher University of Manitoba,
[log in to unmask]  Authors are to submit a brief vita along with their 
abstracts.

Please identify your emails by including “Symposium Proposal” in the subject 
line. An email confirming receipt will be sent within 48 hours. If such email has 
not been received, the author should contact the person to whom abstract 
was sent. To ensure a blind review, NO identifying information should be 
included on the abstract. Any abstracts with identifying information will not be 
reviewed. Questions regarding the submission process may be directed to 
either Drs. Massey or Beecher.

The blind review process will be completed by November 15, 2009 at which 
time authors will be notified of decision. Accepted abstracts will appear in the 
conference proceedings. 

In addition, based on the quality of the abstract, certain authors may be 
invited to submit their full papers for publication. More information will follow 
the November  deadline. 

IDEC Conference Information
The symposium will take place immediately before the Interior Design 
Educators Council’s Annual Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, March 24-27, 2010. 
Participants of the symposium (IDEC pre-conference) are encouraged also to 
submit these or additional abstracts to the IDEC conference. Go to 
http://www.idec.org/events/2010.php for more information.