Annual Conference of the Association of American Geographers, 14-18th April
2010, Washington DC.
Call for Papers - “Geographies of the hidden citizen”
Session organisers: Rhys D. Jones and Sarah Mills (Aberystwyth University)
Sponsored by: Political Geography Specialty Group and Ethics, Justice and
Human Rights Speciality Group
Recent work by geographers on citizenship has moved away from what can be
considered more ‘mainstream’ manifestations of the concept towards what has
been differently understood as the everyday, mundane or new geographies of
citizenship. We argue, however, that alternative citizenships are still
obscured in the literature, and that alternative subjectivities merit attention.
These include groups that have, so far, been neglected both as members of
communities/society and subsequently in academic literature, such as young
people, senior citizens and prisoners. There is also a need to examine the
counter-public spaces in which acts of citizenship occur, such as homeless
shelters, halls of residence, chatrooms, and Scout huts, which further
challenge established notions of publicity (Staeheli and Mitchell 2008).
Furthermore, these alternative spaces and practices may highlight normative
citizenships that do not conform to the hegemonic or mainstream norms in
society (such as traveller communities) and, in doing so, open up discussions
on how geographers think about and conceptualise citizenship.
In this session we wish to bring together papers that excavate the
geographies of the hidden, concealed or ‘out-of-sight’ citizen. What analytic
purchase does citizenship give us when considering those obscured and
marginalised in a variety of social and spatial settings? There is also a need to
examine the spatialities of such alternative citizenships. These may also be
hidden if their acts are played out in counterpublic spaces that do not sit
neatly within the public/private divide, or may occur in softer, more social
settings than has previously been credited. This session aims to reveal some
of the more enigmatic geographies of citizenship, the marginalised areas of
research which interrogate the more mundane, nuanced or multi-faceted
aspects of citizenship and its spatial manifestations.
We particularly would like to welcome papers on the following themes:
• Citizenship and the lifecourse
• Citizenship and language
• Citizenship and religion
• Sexual citizenship
• Subterranean spaces and counterpublics of citizenship
• ‘Deviant’ and offender citizenships
• Medical citizenship
If you would like to participate, please send a title and abstract (maximum 250
words) to Rhys D. Jones ([log in to unmask]) AND Sarah Mills
([log in to unmask]) no later than October 14th 2009.
Reference:
Staeheli L.A and D. Mitchell (2008) The People’s Property? Power, Politics,
and the Public; London: Routledge
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