[ecrea] Call for Papers - 'Geographies of Experimental Infrastructure'

> Call For Papers
> 2010 Association of American Geographers (AAG) Annual Meeting
> Washington, D.C., April 14-18, 2010
>
> Geographies of Experimental Infrastructure
> Organizers: James Evans and Andy Karvonen (University of Manchester)
> Keywords: infrastructure, experimentation, environmental governance, 
> citizenship
>
> Infrastructure networks mediate the relations between humans and 
> their material surroundings by defining particular configurations of 
> nature and technology. In recent years, there has been a significant 
> emphasis on the modernization of infrastructure service through 
> progressive technomanagerial activities aimed at upgrading, 
> replacing, and in some cases, privatizing these networks. At the 
> same time, the ways in which people inhabit and use infrastructure 
> are attracting greater attention in light of the pressing need to 
> adapt to social, economic and environmental change. In response to 
> these and other factors, a small number of non-state actors have 
> begun to take a central role in the design, development, and 
> management of infrastructure services. The inclusion of community 
> groups, non-profit organizations, homeowners, and others as 
> co-designers and co-managers of water, transportation, 
> communication, and electricity services suggests the potential for 
> infrastructure networks to adapt to new modes of governance and citizenship.
>
> In this session, we propose to explore a wide variety of experiments 
> and interventions in infrastructure that rework the relations 
> between humans, nature, and technology. We take inspiration from the 
> related literatures of environmental governance, political ecology, 
> science & technology studies, and sustainable community development 
> to interpret infrastructure networks as key sites for political and 
> cultural debate. Papers may be theoretical or empirical in focus, 
> and address urban or rural contexts in the developing or developed 
> world.  We welcome contributions on topics such as:
>
> -  The civics of infrastructure, including experiments in non-state 
> infrastructure and insurgent forms of citizenship that extend and 
> redefine sustainability
> -  The spatial implications of upgrading and updating infrastructure services
> -  Collaborative forms of infrastructure governance between state, 
> private, and community actors, including innovative participatory 
> processes and methodologies
> -  Political and cultural dimensions of adaptive and resilient 
> infrastructure such as the adoption of autonomous or semi-autonomous 
> technologies (rainwater harvesting, photovoltaic arrays, wind turbines etc.)
> - The importance of scientific and bureaucratic actors in framing 
> infrastructure provision through administrative policies, codes, etc.
>
> If you are interested in participating in this session, please send 
> an abstract (maximum 250 words) to the organizers, 
> <(jp.evans /at/ manchester.ac.htm)>(jp.evans /at/ manchester.ac.uk) or 
> <(andrew.karvonen /at/ manchester.ac.htm)>(andrew.karvonen /at/ manchester.ac.uk), 
> by 9 October 2009.
>
> For more information on the conference, see 
> <http://www.aag.org/annualmeetings/2010/index.htm>http://www.aag.org/annualmeetings/2010/index.htm
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Nico Carpentier (Phd)
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Vrije Universiteit Brussel - Free University of Brussels
Centre for Studies on Media and Culture (CeMeSO)
Pleinlaan 2 - B-1050 Brussels - Belgium
T: ++ 32 (0)2-629.18.56
F: ++ 32 (0)2-629.36.84
Office: 5B.401a
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European Communication Research and Education Association
Web: http://www.ecrea.eu
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E-mail: (Nico.Carpentier /at/ vub.ac.be)
Web: http://homepages.vub.ac.be/~ncarpent/
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