MeCCSA-PGN 2021 Conference, University of Brighton – Dreaming of Another Place
University of Brighton, 9th-10th September 2021
Conference Theme: Dreaming of Another Place
The MeCCSA Postgraduate Network is pleased to invite postgraduate researchers to attend our upcoming annual conference at the University of Brighton on 9th and 10th September 2021.
Details on the theme:
Place is something more often sensed than understood, an indistinct region of awareness rather than something clearly defined. ‘Place’ has no fixed identity, as places themselves do not, and has similarly been subject to numerous demands, whether theological or philosophical, political or aesthetic.
Tacita Dean and Jeremy Millar, Place, 2005, p.14
Dean and Millar’s comments encapsulate the pervasiveness of place in contemporary research – but also point to its inherently contested nature. The interaction of ideas, experiences and cultures of place are always already infused with power, politics and the plurality of possible pasts, presents and futures.
In the last year we have seen ourselves restricted in where we can go, making those fewer places each of us spend our time in even more impactful in our lives. Alongside this, the deeply ingrained structural inequalities of the world around us have been sharply brought into focus. As the image above suggests, for many it feels like we are living in a dystopia and yearning for a place that no longer exists and maybe never did.
Structured to encourage understandings, experiences and discussions of place as a ‘simultaneity of stories-so-far’ (Massey, 2005), we are seeking papers, panel proposals and creative contributions from a wide range of disciplines and would be delighted to receive abstracts from interdisciplinary researchers and submissions from creative practitioners.
In this past year academia has been increasingly virtual. While we think it is important to have opportunities to meet and create sites of interaction in person, we also want to build upon the opportunities for engagement we have gained from virtual academia. The conference will therefore take place across virtual platforms as well as in a physical form at University of Brighton on 9th and 10th September.
Examples of topics explored through theories of place:
- Place’s Critical Relation to Space and Environment
- Feeling Out of Place
- The Politics of Place
- Placing Oneself in Place
- The Online/Virtual Place
- Without a Place
- Time and Place/Memoryscapes
- Co-becoming With Place
- The Agency of Place
Please send an abstract of 200-400 words along with a brief biography and institutional affiliation to MeCCSA2021PGN@brighton.ac.uk by 15th June 2021. In your application please indicate if you are interested in a virtual presentation, physical presentation or both.
We are accepting proposals for:
- 20 minute paper presentations
- 1.5 hour panel sessions (with 3-5 contributors)
- Creative contributions: short films, performance, artistic practice etc.
- Research poster submissions are very welcome
If you would like to propose a panel please send a 300 word description of the panel along with the abstracts.
Please indicate in your submission if you need any specialist equipment, other than projector and podium.
Please also let us know if you have any particular access requirements.
There are a limited number of travel bursaries available, please enquire for more information.
Additionally, we would like to encourage delegates to submit full versions of their papers for the potential inclusion in a Special Conference Issue of the Postgraduate Network’s journal Networking Knowledge. More details about this will be released after the abstract deadline.
If you have any questions please feel free to get in touch with the details above.
We look forward to receiving your abstracts and welcoming you to the conference.
Conference Organisers: Jo Pilcher and Harriet Parry