Dear all,
Some of you might be interested in the following paper session in April 2011:
***Apologies for cross-postings***
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CALL FOR PAPERS
Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Seattle,
Washington, April 12-16, 2011
Session Title:
Neoliberalizing Space: Critical Perspectives on Place Branding
Organizers:
Jani Vuolteenaho, University of Helsinki
Reuben Rose-Redwood, University of Victoria
Whether applied on the national, regional, urban, or intra-urban
scale, the practice of ‘place branding’ refers to the various
neoliberal strategies of place-marketing that have been employed in
recent years which treat the identities of places as if they were
commodities. Many marketing experts seem to believe that once
consistently branded with a desirable set of symbolic qualities, a
‘place product’ or ‘geo-brand’ is capable of differentiating itself
from its competitors in the minds of targeted audiences. More
specifically, a variety of techniques have been used to enhance the
‘appeal’ of places through the act of spatial branding, such as: the
hiring of globally renown star architects, co-branding of places and
products, deliberate manipulations of place-bound symbols and texts,
and the commodification of naming rights to public infrastructure
systems. However, even marketing-oriented scholars themselves are
often hesitant as to whether “places are just too complex to be
treated like products” (Kavaratzis & Ashworth 2005).
The goal of the proposed session is to critically examine the spatial
politics of place branding as a set of politico-economic practices. We
welcome paper submissions that address one or more of the following
themes:
• In what respect do the neoliberal practices of place branding
differ from the more conventional forms of place marketing?
• How are place branding strategies implemented in different urban
and non-urban settings?
• What architectural, social, textual, aural and other sensual
means are capitalized in the branding of places?
• In which ways are contemporary theories of place branding at
odds with the conceptualizations of ‘place’ in geography and related
disciplines?
• By what means have hegemonic place branding practices been
resisted, subverted, or reconfigured through the construction of
counter-identities of place?
If you are interested in submitting a paper to this session, please
send an email including the paper title, a 250-word abstract, and your
AAG PIN # to Jani Vuolteenaho ([log in to unmask]) and
Reuben Rose-Redwood ([log in to unmask]) by no later than October 10, 2010.
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