CFP: ‘Understanding Island Cities’: Special issue of Island Studies Journal and Island Dynamics

Despite the great progress made in the fields of island studies and urban studies over recent decades, little attention has been paid to island cities per se. Indeed, some may consider island studies and urban studies to be mutually exclusive areas of inquiry. Nevertheless, there is a strong correlation between islandness and urbanity: Over the course of human history, many important regional, global, and capital cities have developed wholly or partially on small islands or archipelagos and are almost invariably coastal (located near seas or along rivers). Physical separation from the mainland and spatial limitations along with a maritime tradition can encourage the transport of products and ideas, improved defence infrastructure, construction of social capital, consolidation of political power, formation of vibrant cultures, and concentration of population. Examples of cities that are largely contiguous with small islands include Abu Dhabi, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, New York, St Petersburg, Singapore, and Venice.

Another kind of island city is represented by the capital city or major population centre of larger, primarily rural islands or archipelagos. Each of these cities is affected not just by the dynamics at work in urban areas in general, but also by the special functions it gains from acting as a metropolis that provides goods and services to rural island hinterlands. Examples of this kind of city include Havana, Manila, Palermo, Reykjavik, and Taipei.

Island Studies Journal (ISJ) (http://www.islandstudies.ca/journal) and Island Dynamics (http://www.islanddynamics.org) invite submissions to a special joint publication on ‘Understanding Island Cities’. Selected peer-reviewed papers will be published in a

THE MEDIATED CITY – Two Multidisciplinary Conferences [April & October 2014]

THE MEDIATED CITY – two multidisciplinary conferences examining “the city”…… a virtual, filmic, social, political and physical construct.

CONFERENCE  1.
Place: London
Dates: 01-03 April 2014
Host: Ravensbourne (University)

CONFERENCE  2.
Place: Los Angeles
Dates: October 2014 (TBC)
Host: Woodbury University

Outline:

The nature of the city is a contested concept. For architects it is generally a question of bricks and mortar – a physical entity. For human geographers it is a place of human interaction and engagement. For filmmakers it is a site for action and futuristic nightmare. For animators and computer programmers it becomes a virtual world – a second life, a SIMulated city. For sociologists, it is a defining aspect of cultural identity. For political activists and theorists, it is a place to ‘occupy’ and the site of the polis.

THE MEDIATED CITY conference offers a platform for multiple and diverse examinations of the city. It aims to bring people together from diverse backgrounds and fragment, multiply and reconfigure our readings of the city; to offer multiple and conflicting discipline perspectives. The intention is to share views of the city as physical entity, online community, film set, photographic backdrop, geographical map, sociological case study, political metaphor, digital or video game etc…. – to examine it as a mediated and shared phenomenon.

Key dates – Conference 1 – London

15 September 2013. Deadline for abstracts / initial proposals

15 January 2014. Deadline for full papers / detailed proposals

01 April 2014. Conference –1

For full details visit: http://architecturemps.com

The Contemporary Latin American City: LASA 2014 – CALL FOR PAPERS

LASA 2014 – CALL FOR PAPERS

(Please see below a call for papers for the forthcoming Latin American Studies Association (LASA) Congress in Chicago, May 21-24, 2014)

Assembling the Contemporary Latin American City: South-South Circuits, Planning Exchanges, Policy Mobilities

In the wake of structural adjustment programs and region-wide reforms to democratize and decentralize central government authority, several Latin American cities became sites of increased experimentation and innovation in urban planning, urban development and public participation. Municipal authorities throughout the region reinvented land use, transportation, housing, and public space as planning tools to address a range of new and long-deferred infrastructural, social, and environmental issues. In this context, urban planning became a highly contentious and experimental arena where a range of actors –from public sector planners to NGOs to social movements to organized private actors- seized opportunities to push and legitimize new models of urban planning and development. Although North-South policy exchanges and circuits persisted, Latin Americans increasingly began to look at cities in the region as legitimate and alternative models beyond North-originated paradigms.

We think that the increased South-South urban exchanges in Latin America as well as the new ideological alignments and urban experiments in the region (Davis 2013, Goldfrank and Schrank 2009, Baiocchi 2005) offer a platform to explore and craft new concepts and approaches in Latin American urban studies and planning. In recent years, urban scholars in a variety of disciplines have highlighted the potential of

CFP–new Journal of Urban Cultural Studies launched

Visit the new Journal of Urban Cultural Studies site here.

Call for Papers

The Journal of Urban Cultural Studies is a new peer-reviewed publication cutting across both the humanities and the social sciences in order to better understand the culture(s) of cities. The journal is open to studies that deal with culture, urban spaces and forms of urbanized consciousness the world over.

Although we embrace a broad definition of urban cultural studies, we are particularly interested in submissions that give equal weight to: a) one or more aspects of urban studies (everyday life, built environment, architecture, city planning, identity formation, transportation…) and b) analysis of one or more specific forms of cultural/textual production (literature, film, graphic novels, music, art, graffiti, videogames, online or virtual space…) in relation to a given urban space or spaces.

Essays of 7,000-10,000 words (including works cited and notes) should be sent by attachment to the Editor at urbanculturalstudies@gmail.com. JUCS is also open to proposals of special issues by guest editors working individually or in teams of two. All citations in other languages should be translated into English for the journal’s international reading public, in addition to including the original text.

While the journal does not publish book reviews, we do publish review essays—which should discuss 3-5 recent books on a shared topic or theme (or place) and run from 2,500 to 4,000 words. Review essays of urban-themed installations or other works of art are also welcome. These essays will be reviewed in house. Given our visual focus, we are interested in original, unpublished artwork on the topic of cities and in publishing articles accompanied by images where appropriate.

We encourage a variety of approaches to the urban phenomenon—the strengths of the editorial board run from urban geography to literature and film, photography and videogames, gender and sexuality, creative economy, popular music, Marxist approaches, fashion, urban planning, anthropology, sociology, Deaf culture, built environment, philosophy, architecture, detective fiction and noir, and more…

CFP-Boundaries International Architectural Magazine – ‘Re-Cycle Architecture’

Reblogged from h-net, see original post here.

Boundaries introduces a call for papers on the following subject: «Re-Cycle Architecture».Boundaries is a quarterly international magazine on contemporary architecture, with texts in English and Italian. The first issue, July – September 2011, is centred on the Contemporary Architecture in Africa, the second, October – December 2011, on the Architectures for Emergencies, the third, January – March 2012, on the Architectures of Peace and the fourth, April – June, on The Other City.The aim of the project in Boundaries is to offer a panoramic and critical view of the architectures that today face, in many different ways, the challenges of modernity, and of sustainability intended as a balance between problems of cultural, environmental, economic and social nature. The fifth issue of Boundaries International Architectural Magazine will focus on : « Re-Cycle Architectures ». Architectural reuse, rehabilitation, reconversion exist from long time ago but they are at the centre of heritage and architectural study issues only since recently. Nowadays, recycle and sustainability are ever more at the centre of architectural and urban planning researches and practices. The disproportionate loss of land has severely undermined our environment, it becomes necessary to reflect on how design could lead to the improvement of the existing architectures, rather than building new ones. Recycle has to be intended here not as a new vague for aesthetic or marketing trends, but as re-use, “life cycle extension” for materials and objects. This new cycle affect the materiality of the existing, its functions and its significations, thus creating an hybrid entity adapted to contemporary needs. How does the role of cultural tourism, globalization, politics and economic issues influence the treatment of a building such as recycling? After the rejection of postmodernism and the increase of new contemporary forms of architecture, how does an architectural gesture could enhance the existing fabric without a mimetic approach? From sustainable construction techniques and building strategies, to sustainable recycling of demolition waste, to sustainable preservation and restoration, Boundaries wishes to offer in the fifth issue an insight in all the best practices and researches. All kinds of approaches to this topic are welcomed, but must be focused on the XXIst Century. Papers can be case studies oriented, or methodological and/or theoretical in focus. The deadline for submission is July 18, 2012. Contributors are invited to submit a title, an abstract (from 400 to 500 words, and three images), and a short biography stating their affiliation and professional interests (maximum 100 words). Official language for paper presentation is English. The style, grammar and phrasing should be edited by a person with an excellent command of English and a good understanding of architectural terminology. All submission of abstracts should be sent by email to redazione@boundaries.it (up to 15 Mb) before July 18, 2012. The papers will be selected by the editorial board and subjected to evaluation with the blind peer review system. The authors will receive an answer before July 24, 2012. Articles should be sent to the editorial board, in their definitive form and with illustrations (free from reproduction rights), before August 12, 2012. Articles length should be between 400 and 700 words, notes and bibliography included. Contributions must be original and should not have been previously published, even in part. All articles must be illustrated (at least ten images, drawings, sketches, renders or other).

Boundaries http://www.boundaries.it redazione@boundaries.it Fax: (0039)069085149 Email: redazione@boundaries.it Visit the website at http://www.boundaries.it

CFP–Lisbon: Art and Heritage (Journal of Art History)

Call for papers reposted from h-net online, see the original post here.

Journal of Art History – Lisbon: Art and Heritage Call for Papers Date: 2012-07-31 Date Submitted: 2012-05-25 Announcement ID: 194771

Those interested in contributing to this issue of the Journal of Art History are invited to submit original papers. Discussion should focus on issues and problems such as: 1) New contributions to the History of the City: Architecture, Urban Planning and Heritage. 2) Lisbon Art History: Artists, models and case studies. 3) The image and images of Lisbon: evolution of the city’s iconography– from illuminated manuscripts to cinema. 4) Towards a history of Lisbon – reflections on Lisbon studies. Proposals for papers should be maximum 500 words long and include a header with the author’s details (name, affiliation and e-mail). Abstracts should be accompanied by a brief curriculum vitae of the author (150 words maximum). Documents can be submitted in Portuguese, Spanish, French or English. Proposal should be sent by e-mail to estudosdelisboa@gmail.com by July 31st, 2012. Selected proposal are to be developed into final papers (5000 words maximum) which will observe the journal’s editorial guidelines available for consultation at http://iha.fcsh.unl.pt/apresentacao.php?id=41. Final articles must be delivered by November 30th, 2012, and will be submitted to a standard process of double blind review.

IHA|Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas|UNL Av. de Berna, nº 26 – C 1069-061 Lisboa Email: estudosdelisboa@gmail.com