• Paper Session of the CPG at the IGU Regional Conference
15 Gennaio 2014
The Political Geographies of Camps
Convenors: Irit Katz and James D Sidaway
Discussant Claudio Minca
IGU-CPG, Krakow, 18-22 August 2014
Camps have proliferated. Formal and informal camps constructed for/by refugees, undocumented migrants, asylum seekers and Roma/Travellers, appear in Europe. Tens of thousands live in camps in Africa and Asia. Elsewhere; in Oceania and the Caribbean migrants and detainees of the ‘war on terror’ are held in camps.
Camps create multifaceted geographies of displacement and movement, asylum and refuge. Although camps are frequently created as emergency spaces for the control and management of people, they often become sites of suspended temporariness, a continuing state of exception.
Following the reflections opened by the Political Geography lecture at IGU2014 by Claudio Minca and the interventions of Franco Farinelli and Vladimir Kolossov in the special session “Camps. Geographies of the Sovereign Exception” (co-organized by the IGU-Commission on Political Geography and the journal Political Geography), this session will explore the varied aspects of camps and examine them from different angles; their global political roles, their spatial vocabulary and materiality, the ways they are created, governed and function as spaces of everyday life, and the new forms of politics and political subjects that emerge in them. Case studies and other papers that develop perspectives for comparative research and critical thinking on these varied political geographies of camps will be welcome in this session.
Please send abstracts (max. 250 characters in the title incl. spaces and max. 500 words in the abstract text) through the on-line registration system by ***27th January 2014***
The session will follow special session “Camps. Geographies of the Sovereign Exception” – Claudio Minca and interventions of Franco Farinelli and Vladimir Kolossov (co-organized by the IGU Commission on Political Geography and the journal Political Geography).
• Abstract Submission Deadline extended for the Krakow Regional Conference 2014
14 Gennaio 2014
The deadline for submission of abstracts for the upcoming IGU Regional Conference in Krakow, Poland, has now been extended to 27th January 2014.
Please remember that the abstracts can be submitted ONLY via the on-line system, and to do that, a participant has to register in the system first, details at:
Visit the conference website for further information
www.igu2014.org
• Geopolitics in Changing SE Asia – extended deadline
17 Dicembre 2013
International Conference on
GEOPOLITICS IN CHANGING SOUTHEAST ASIA:
BOUNDARFIES AND BORDERLANDS
20-23 July 2014
School of Tourism and Geography
Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, China
Organized by
– Yunnan Normal University (YNU)
– Institute of Geography Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS
– Beijing Normal University (BNU)
– East China Normal University (ECNU)
Sponsored by
– Geographical Society of China (GSC)
– Association of American Geographers (AAG)
– International Geographical Union (IGU)
– Geographical Society of Yunnan Province
Background
Two distinctive features of the world political map are that boundary issues remain of paramount importance and that borderlands have their own distinct landscape features. Boundaries, borderlands, border regions and frontiers on land and sea have a long and rich tradition in political geography. Contributions include books, monographs, articles and maps by geographers from almost every country, some writing about historical and colonial themes, others on contemporary and post-colonial issues. Boundaries and borders continue to be among the major topics studied by political geographers on all continents. These works are supplemented by other international associations and societies also committed to understanding the importance of boundaries in historical and contemporary contexts.
Promoting the geographic study of boundaries and borderlands have been major national and international geographical societies and associations and also commissions within the International Geographical Union, which have sponsored large and small conferences, field trips and publications to enrich the study of political geography and its counterpart geopolitics. Two of political geography’s major journals, Political Geography and Geopolitics regularly include articles and book reviews about boundary issues.
The School of Geography and Tourism at Yunnan Normal University is organizing the first political geography conference in China to be held in Kunming, Yunnan Province, in 20-23 July 2014. The title is “Geopolitics in Changing Southeast Asia: Boundaries and Borderlands.” The purpose is to bring together scholars from China, Southeast Asia, East Asia and those from outside the region who have interests in the twin subjects of boundaries and borderlands. We welcome the contributions of scholars from the social and policy sciences (sociology, anthropology, economics, political science, law) as well as the humanities (history, film studies, religion, music,literature) and those from interdisciplinary and regional studies programs. Our aim is to bring together junior and senior scholars and also graduate students from inside and outside the region with interests in the topic.
The conference languages will be Chinese, English and Spanish. The presentations will be followed by time for discussion. A printed copy of all abstracts will be provided those attending. There will be keynote presentations by noted scholars. The conference will be held on campus, which is in the Southeast part of Kunming.
The conference will include two days of papers and presentations; the third day will be a field trip to nearby border regions. Yunnan Province has a very rich ethnic diversity with 26 distinctive minority groups. Evening cultural events of music and dancing are planned.
Potential Topics
The conference organizers are open to a wide variety of topics that may include:
Cultural landscapes
Borderland landscapes
Cultural heritage
Historical land boundaries
Maritime boundaries
Disputed territories and boundaries
Environmental security issues
Regionalism
Cross-border environmental problems
International investments
Labor migration and labor issues
Refugee movements and resettlement
Tourism, including heritage tourism and cross-border tourism
Religions: traditional or emerging
Gender issues
Nongovernmental organizations
Sustainable development and local empowerment
Media geographies and the state
Cyberboundaries and cyberstates
Registration fees:
Those attending will not have to pay for room or meals; these will be provided by Yunnan Normal University. There is no registration fee.
Chinese Scientific Committee Members
Prof. Dahe Qin (IGU Vice President, Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences, China)
Prof. Lin Yang (Yunnan Normal University, China)
Prof. Huasong Luo (Yunnan Normal University, China)
Prof. Shengkui Cheng (Chinese Academy of Sciences, China)
Prof. Weidong Liu (Chinese Academy of Sciences, China)
Prof. Debin Du (East China Normal University, China)
Prof. Jia nxiong Ma (The Chinese University of HongKong)
Prof. Yuejing Ge (Chair, Beijing Normal University, China)
Prof. Shangyi Zhou (Beijing Normal University, China)
Prof. Yue He (Yunnan Normal University, China)
Prof. Jinliang Wang (Yunnan Normal University, China)
Prof. Yapin Chen (Yunnan Normal University, China)
Prof. Liran Xiong (Yunnan Normal University, Chin)
Supportive Members of International Geography Communities
Prof. Anton Gosar (Faculty of Tourism, University of Primorska, Portoroz, Slovenia and Past President of IGU Political Geography Commission)
Dr. Douglas Richardson (AAG Executive Director, USA)
Prof. Vladimir Kolossov (Moscow State University, President, International Geographical Union)
Prof. Alec Murphy (Department of Geography, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon)
Prof. Joe Painter (Department of Geography, University of Durham, UK and chair of the RGS-IBG Political Geography Research Group)
Prof. Elenna Dell’agnese (Department of Geography, University of Milan, Italy and Chair, IGU Political Geography Commission)
Prof. Natalie Koch (Department of Geography, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY Secretary, AAG Poltiical Geography Specialty Group)
Prof. Reece Jones (Department of Geography, University of Hawaii, Chair, AAG Political Geography Specialty Group)
Prof. David Newman ( Dean, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Ben Gurion University, Beersheba, Israel and Editor, Geopolitics)
Prof. Anton Gosar (Faculty of Tourism, University of Primorska, Portoroz, Slovenia and Past President of IGU Political Geography Commission)
Prof. Anssi Passi ( Department of Geography, University of Oulu, Finland)
Prof. Victor Konrad (President, Association of Borderland Studies and Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada)
Prof. Karin Dean (Senior Researcher Institute of Humanities, Talinn University, Estonia)
Prof. Viiginie Mamadouh (Department of Geography University of Amsterdam)
Professor James Sidaway (Department of Geography, University of Singapore)
Deadlines and Contact Persons
Please send tentative title, a 100-125 word abstract, email address and key words to the names below by 31 January 2014. A tentative copy of the program will be provided in Spring 2014.
Chinese language abstracts: Dr. Zhiding Hu, School of Tourism and Geography, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, China huzhiding2007@126.com
English language abstracts: Professor Stanley D. Brunn, Department of Geography, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506 and Department of Geography, Yunnan Normal University,Kunming, China brunn@uky.edu (he is Visiting Professor in the department for Fall 2013 and Spring 2014).
Full paper: May 20, 2014.
• Political Geography and the Environment
05 Dicembre 2013
POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
A meeting of the IGU Commission on Political Geography
University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA
June 19-21, 2014
http://geography.uoregon.edu/pge/
The theme of the conference will be Political Geography and the Environment. The meeting will consist of two days of sessions, followed by an optional day-long field trip to the Oregon coast on June 21.
One of the clearest obstacles to the effort to confront environmental problems is the fragmentation of the planet into political spaces, few of which are meaningful ecological units. The issue is not just that ecological and political boundaries do not coincide; the very roles that territorial states play in the international state system and the world economy frequently work against collective action in the interests of the environment. Building on a tradition of examining the relationship between spaces of governance and environmental geographies, this conference will explore the role political geographic arrangements and understandings play in the effort to address the myriad environmental challenges of our time.
• 2014 IGU Regional Conference – Sessions of the CPG
21 Novembre 2013
We are pleased to invite you to participate in the 2014 IGU Regional Conference which will be held in Kraków, Poland, 18-22 August, 2014.
Please find here the sessions organised by the Commission on Political Geography.
More information on the Conference Website: http://www.igu2014.org/
The travel grant application process for attendance at the next IGU Regional Conference in Krakow, Poland 18 th to 22 nd August 2014 is now open. Details, together with an application form, are here
• Diaspora and Education Workshop
25 Ottobre 2013
CFP Diaspora and Education Workshop
16th January 2014
Department of Geography, Loughborough University
Organisers: Liz Mavroudi and Marco Antonsich, Department of Geography, Loughborough University
We are very pleased and grateful that Claire Dwyer has agreed to act as a keynote speaker for this event.
This workshop wishes to stimulate debate on the relationships between diaspora and education/learning and views education in a broad and open-ended way. By examining diaspora and education, we wish to discuss broader impacts of education and learning on diasporic individuals, families and groups but also in relation to homeland/host country contexts. Papers are welcomed on (but are not restricted to) these themes:
• Formal education and policy. E.g.: How do schools and higher education institutions deal with diasporic pupils and students with particular religious, social, cultural, political and emotional needs and wishes?
• Learning and performing identities. E.g.: The informal, active ways in which those in diaspora construct and negotiate their cultural, national, religious, political identities in relation to factors such as space, place, gender, generational differences, language, religion and diasporic/transnational connections. What is the importance of strategic uses of nationalism and citizenship?
• Educating ‘our’ diaspora and homeland. E.g.: the more formal ways diasporic leaders or the sending state attempt to mould and guide diasporas. How do those in diaspora engage with their homeland by creating educational, academic and skilled/highly skilled/professional networks aimed at stimulating change and development?
• Gaining an education. E.g.: clarifying and understanding the role and importance of education to those in diaspora. Is education seen as the key to career ‘success’ or diasporic survival?
This is a free workshop but numbers are limited.
Please send abstracts (300 words maximum) to Liz Mavroudi (e.mavroudi@lboro.ac.uk) by December 1st 2013
• 6ème Festival de Géopolitique
25 Ottobre 2013
6ème Festival de Géopolitique
Grenoble, 3-6 avril 2014
Appel à Communication/
Call For Contributions
“Eurasie, l’avenir de l’Europe ?”
Entre Atlantique et Oural, quelle direction doit prendre l’Europe ? Doit-elle se tourner vers l’ouest au nom d’un héritage occidental qu’elle partage avec les Etats-Unis ? Ou lui faut-il regarder à l’est en épousant la logique d’un continent qui court sans discontinuité majeure jusqu’au Pacifique ? C’est donner un sens à l’Eurasie, l’union de l’Europe et de l’Asie qui constitue pour la géopolitique le pivot du monde et qui rassemble l’essentiel de la population et des richesses mondiales.
Qu’est-ce que l’Eurasie ? Une idée nouvelle qu’a rendue possible la fin du communisme ? Une nécessité qu’impose la constitution de grands ensembles continentaux à travers toute la planète ? Un fantasme souvent rêvé mais irréalisable ? Une construction confuse et floue dont les limites restent imprécises ?
Telles sont les questions auxquelles s’efforcera de répondre le 6ème Festival de géopolitique de Grenoble.
Soumission souhaitée avant le 20 novembre 2013
Plus d’informations sur www.festivalgeopolitique.com
“Eurasia, the future for Europe?”
Positioned between the Atlantic and the Urals, which direction should Europe take? Should it turn towards the West in recognition of its occidental heritage that it shares with the United States? Or should it face East, adopting the logic of a continent that almost always keeps running to the Pacific? This symbolises Eurasia, the union of Europe and Asia which is the global pivot for geopolitics, bringing together the majority of the world’s population and wealth.
What is Eurasia? A new idea which made the end of communism possible? A necessity imposed across the planet by the leading continental groups? A fantasy often dreamed about but never achieved? A confused, vague structure whose limitations remain unfocused?
These are some questions that the 6th Grenoble Festival of Geopolitics will attempt to answer
Please submit before November 20th, 2013.
More informations on www.festivalgeopolitique.com
• ABS 1st World Conference
25 Ottobre 2013
Call for Papers: ABS 1st World Conference
9-13 June 2014, Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia
Please note:
Submission deadline for complete panels/roundtables: October 31, 2013
Submission deadline for individual papers/posters: November 30, 2013
The Association for Borderlands Studies (ABS) invites proposals for individual papers and posters as well as complete panels and roundtables related to multi-disciplinary study of borders, border areas and cross-border interaction. Contributions from all world regions are encouraged. The organizing theme for the 2014 World Conference is:
Post-Cold War Borders: Global Trends and Regional Responses
Since the end of the Cold War era, state borders have increasingly been understood as multifaceted social institutions rather than solely as formal political markers of sovereignty. The changing significance of borders has been partly interpreted as a reflection of global “de-bordering”, and of optimistic scenarios of globalization and international cooperation. However, such notions of “de-bordering” have been challenged by or even succumbed to the reality of ethnic and cultural tensions and increasing complexity and instability in the world system. It is time to ask how often contradictory global tendencies are reflected on the ground. We can recognize global megatrends that are changing the nature of borders but also regional and local processes of border-making and border negotiating.
The unprecedented expansion and transformation of the global economy and the concurrent fluidity of people and goods within a context of increased securitization, signifies fundamental societal challenges that directly relate to borders. On this view, borders help condition how societies and individuals shape their strategies and identities. At the same time, borders themselves can be seen as products of a social and political negotiation of space; they frame social and political action and are constructed through institutional and discursive practices at different levels and by different actors.
Despite new border studies perspectives that favor a broad cultural, economic and complex governance view of borders and borderlands, a strict top-down international relations view of borders continue to dominate policymaking. This current era of heightened globalization requires that we pay attention not only to the tendency of increased governance of borders and border regions, but also at the regional responses to such development.
Through regional responses to globalization, borders are reproduced, for example, in situations of conflict where historical memories are mobilized to support territorial claims, to address past injustices or to strengthen group identity – often by perpetuating negative stereotypes of the “other”. However through new institutional and discursive practices contested borders can also be transformed into symbols of co-operation and of common historical heritage
The general theme encompasses a wide range of topics and approaches. Please consult the conference website for inspiration. We invite proposals that focus on empirical research and case studies, conceptual and theoretical issues, and/ or policy relevant aspect of border studies alike.
Confirmed Keynote Speakers:
- Prof. Oscar J. Martinez, University of Arizona
- Prof. Paul Nugent, University of Edinburgh
- Prof. Anne-Laure Amilhat Szary, Université Joseph Fourier/CNRS-PACTE
- Prof. Anssi Paasi, University of Oulu
- Prof. Alexander F. Filippov, Higher School of Economics/Russian Academy of Sciences
For further information, updates regarding the conference, and to
download forms for submitting proposals, please see the conference website at:
Submission deadline for complete panels/roundtables: October 31, 2013
Submission deadline for individual papers/posters: November 30, 2013
Please send your proposal to
The Association for Borderlands Studies 2014 World Conference is organized by the VERA Centre for Russian and Border Studies at the University of Eastern Finland in cooperation with the Centre for Independent Social Research and the European University at St. Petersburg.
The organizers wish to thank ABORNE – The African Borderlands Research Network and the Finnish Association for Russian and East European Studies for their financial and scientific contribution.
• China geography
17 Ottobre 2013
Call for participation in a newly started blog for graduate students of China geography: http://chinageography.blog.com/.
The blog intends to build a collaborative platform for students and junior scholars to exchange information and share ideas.
By engaging students as well as scholars at various levels, we hope to better connect student of China geography and beyond, and create a supportive environment for both research and career.
• XIII Coloquio Internacional de Geocrítica
02 Ottobre 2013
XIII Coloquio Internacional de Geocrítica
EL CONTROL DEL ESPACIO Y LOS ESPACIOS DE CONTROL
Barcelona 5-12 de mayo de 2014
http://www.ub.edu/geocrit/xiii-col_Geo.htm
Qué es el poder, cómo se ejerce y como controla a la sociedad y el espacio son cuestiones que necesitan seguir siendo debatidas en los Coloquios de Geocrítica. En éste queremos centrar la atención en estas últimas cuestiones, poniendo énfasis en las formas como se controla la sociedad y el espacio.
Todos los mecanismos de control político, administrativo, militar, simbólico poseen además de las funciones represivas otras que contribuyen a la regulación social.
Deseamos introducir una perspectiva histórica, que creemos indispensable, pero pondremos énfasis en las formas que control que se ejercen en la época contemporánea, utilizando instrumentos cada vez más refinados de información y control a través de redes técnicas, y de instrumentos simbólicos y retóricos Ejes Temáticos
* Espacio, poder y control
* Ejercicios del poder y sus efectos espaciales
* El control y la articulación del territorio: divisiones administrativas, construcción de redes, infraestructuras etc.
* Redes técnicas y control del territorio
* Fronteras, estados y estructuras militares: control y gestión de la población y el territorio
* Delito, conflicto y ciudad
* La apropiación simbólica del espacio. Lugar ciudad, territorio
* Morfología urbana y poder. Una perspectiva histórica
* Morfología urbana y control en la sociedad globalizada
* Arquitectura, poder y control
* La apropiación de lo urbano: actores y ciudadanía
* La configuración de los Estados y sus implicaciones territoriales y de control de la población
* Salud pública: Sus consecuencias territoriales y de control de la población
* El sistema educativo: sus implicaciones espaciales, formativas, disciplinares y de control
* Vigilancia, nuevas tecnologías y riesgos globales
* Retórica y simbólica del control social y territorial
