Urban Geography Research Group Annual Conference 2017: Urban Activism in Precarious Times
A two-day conference and open discussion organised by the RGS-IBG Urban Geography Research Group.
Thursday 18th and Friday 19th May 2017, Queen Mary, University of London
Call for Papers:
This year’s UGRG Annual Conference will focus on the varied methods and manifestations of activism in contemporary cities.
In the context of global political and economic turbulence, and the resurgence of right-wing populism, the need to understand the ways in which a variety of actors respond to and resist social injustices has never been more pressing. Across the globe, cities, in particular, are subject to ongoing challenges related to, among others: housing inequality, welfare retrenchment and growing labour precarity.
The wide array of injustices faced by city-dwellers, has in turn called for forms of activism that are often both locally-rooted and globally interconnected. A multitude of activist methods and techniques have emerged to tackle urban social justice in complex political times. From the direct action tactics of the Focus E15 campaign in fighting social cleansing in Newham, East London, and Long Live Southbank’s campaign to preserve skateboarding culture on London’s South Bank, to the global reach of the intersectional BlackLivesMatter movement, activist continue to transform, and reform, their cities.
We invite contributions, both empirical and conceptual, relating, but not limited to, the following:
- The role of community organising in cities in leading and promoting activism
- The rise of social media as a tool for activism and connectivity in the urban context
- (Il)legal methods of resistance and protest
- The relationship between activism and academia, and methods/toolkits for better fostering these relationships
- Historic examples of urban activism and their role in the development of contemporary forms of protest
- Ways in which activism is changing in response to contemporary conditions
- Defining activism in relation to the urban
Papers are welcomed from researchers at any stage of their career (including PhD students). We will also be holding a ‘pecha-kucha’ session (presentations consisting of 20 slides shown for 20 seconds each). If you are planning on presenting in a pecha-kucha session, then please indicate this when submitting your abstract.
Please send abstracts (max. 200 words) to [log in to unmask] no later than Wednesday 29th March 2017.
The registration deadline will follow shortly after the deadline. Please register as early as possible, as places will be limited to a maximum of 50. Standard registration will be £75; for post-graduate students and unemployed, £40. To book your place, visit:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ugrg-2017-annual-conference-tickets-32399455644
For those abstracts that are accepted, payment must be received via Eventbrite within 2 weeks to hold your place.
|