From H-Material Culture:
The Cultures of the Suburbs International Research Network: 2nd Symposium:
Out of Control Suburbs? Comparing Representations of Order, Disorder and Sprawl
27-28 June 2013, Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York
Call for Presentations/Posters : EXTENDED DEADLINE
Following the success of our 2011 Inaugural Symposium, our second meeting
seeks to discuss the nature and representation of suburbs, suburban life
and sprawl whether local, regional or global. Where are the margins of
suburbia and do they represent order, disorder or nostalgia? How is sprawl
defined – as organic social process or negative cultural impact? And how is
it experienced by diverse communities and individuals? What are the
aesthetics of order and sprawl? How do representations of suburban sprawl
and disorder converge or diverge between the Global South and North – and
within the Global North?
Questions that the symposium aims to address include: how are order and
disorder understood and represented in relation to suburban zoning,
planning and placemaking; greenbelt spaces, public parks and private
gardens? How do poverty, physical deterioration and crime change the ways
that particular communities are envisaged, and for whom are these places
policed and controlled? In what ways would a “Right to the Suburb” differ
from a “Right to the City”? How does the disorderly mobility of
suburbanites – pedestrians, commuters and migrants – give rise to new
visions for managing their movements at various scales? In what ways do the
artistic, social, civic, sporting and religious aspects of a community
shift and change according to the sprawling sites and changing
infrastructures around them? And how do children and their elders reflect
on the order or disorder of their suburbs?
In a continuation of the practice that worked so effectively at our first
symposium, and in order to encourage maximum participation and dialogue, we
welcome proposals for 10-minute papers from a range of disciplines
including (but not limited to) the arts and humanities, social sciences,
and applied sciences such as Architecture, Design and Planning.
Please submit a 250 word proposal for your paper by Monday 3 December 2013
to Jill Sullivan, Network Research Facilitator at suburbs@exeter.ac.uk
Once again, we have a limited number of travel bursaries (£100 each)
available to postgraduate students who would like to participate in the
symposium. If you would like to apply for one of these bursaries, please
include an application with your proposal, outlining the reasons why you
would like to attend and how you feel your work fits with the theme of the
symposium.