[ecrea] CfP Problem of the Public

Dear all, Call for Papers, New Perspectives on the Problem of the 
Public, 15-16 May 2014. The Centre for the Study of Democracy at the 
University of Westminster are hosting a two day conference, 'New 
Perspectives on the Problem of the Public', Board Room, 309 Regent 
Street, 15-16 May 2014. This inter-disciplinary conference brings 
together researchers from communications and media, built environment, 
education, geography and political theory to discuss the implications of 
the rise of new strands of pragmatist, complexity and new materialist 
approaches to democracy and the public sphere. We will examine how 
non-traditional conceptualisations of the ‘public’ might be relevant to 
various fields of practice and policy making. What roles remain for 
institutions of governance in a complex, fluid, more pluralist world, 
less amenable to modernist conceptions of power? What are the 
implications if representation is increasingly understood as a barrier 
to the emergence of the public, rather than as a means of accessing it? 
Does it make sense to think about 'public goods' such as health and 
education if the public can no longer be taken for granted? Could 
understandings of the public in political theory and policy making be 
enriched and problematised by their conceptualisations in other academic 
fields? Guest speakers: Clive Barnett (Professor of Geography and Social 
Theory, University of Exeter) - 'Emergent Publics' Andrew Barry 
(Professor of Human Geography, University College, London) - 'Material 
Politics and the Reinvention of the Public' Jon Coaffee (Professor in 
Urban Geography, University of Warwick) - 'Citizenship and Democracy in 
the City 2.0: Balancing the Quest for Resilience and the Public Interest 
in Urban Development' John Law (Professor of Sociology, Open University) 
- title to be confirmed Sarah Whatmore (Professor of Environment and 
Public Policy, University of Oxford) - 'Experimental Publics: Science, 
Democracy and the Redistribution of Expertise' We invite papers and 
panel proposals on the following topics (we are keen to include a wide 
variety of academic fields): * new representations of the public * the 
public and the role of teaching/knowledge * materials and policy-making 
* space and the production of the public * crisis, responsivity and 
resilience We have some funding to support travel and subsistence for 
paper presenters. The deadline for abstracts (250 words) is Friday 21 
February 2014. Please send abstracts to Michele Ledda 
((michele.ledda /at/ my.westminster.ac.uk)) Robert Cowley 
((robert.cowley /at/ my.westminster.ac.uk)) and David Chandler 
((d.chandler /at/ wmin.ac.uk)). David Chandler, Professor of International 
Relations, Director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy, Department 
of Politics and International Relations, University of Westminster, 
32-38 Wells Street, London, W1T 3UW. Tel: ++44 (0)776 525 3073. Journal 
Editor, Resilience: International Policies, Practices and Discourses: 
http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/resi20 Book series Editor, Routledge 
Studies in Intervention and Statebuilding: 
http://208.254.74.79/books/series/RSIS/ Book series Editor, Routledge 
Advances in Democratic Theory: 
http://www.routledge.com/books/series/RADT/ Amazon books page: 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/David-Chandler/e/B001HCXV7Y/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0 
Personal website: http://www.davidchandler.org/
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