[Geowanking] LEFT GEOGRAPHIES - 30 August - 01 September 2006

[Tracey P. Lauriault]

I forwarded the following questions to the organizers of LEFT 
GEOGRAPHIES and they were receptive to the idea and would be willing to 
accept abstracts.

"I wonder, there is a whole world of left credited and coder citizen 
geographers engaged in the alta technology scene doing open source 
mapping, mapping hacks, mashups, folksonomies, wifi mapping, pervasive 
gaming, code repurposers, and such who are challenging by their actions 
and what they are portraying - issues related to copyright, IP, civic 
engagement, art, data liberation initiatives, engaging with the build 
environment, public and private space, debates on open spectrum, 
psychogeography, creating new communities of practice, and much very 
interesting and humourous irreverence for establishement.
Is there a space for that kind of dialogue potentially of a non 
theoretical kind but of a a presentation of these new emerging 
communities?" sent by tracey

I believe the type of work you are doing should be discussed in this 
type of forum!

***************************
Call for Papers:

LEFT GEOGRAPHIES



Paper session sponsored by the Participatory Geographies Working Group 
of the RGS-IBG



RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2006, Global social justice and 
environmental sustainability, 30 August - 01 September 2006



Convenors:

Ugo Rossi, University L'Orientale of Naples, Email: urossi at unior.it &

Justin Beaumont, University of Groningen, The Netherlands, Email: 
j.r.beaumont at rug.nl



A recent intervention by Ash Amin and Nigel Thrift in Antipode has 
sparked a lively and still developing discussion among geographers about 
the present and the future of the Left in geographical research. Many 
authors have already responded or are in the process of responding to 
their intervention in scholarly events and gatherings or through journal 
articles. These responses discuss the ideas and the cultural and 
political sensibilities that should characterise a Left approach to 
geographical studies, or, to put it another way, a geographical approach 
to Left thinking and practice. Little attention, however, has so far 
been paid to the actual practices of contemporary Left geographers at 
the intersection of theory, politics and concrete experiences.



Conference participants are encouraged to submit papers that aim at 
theoretical enrichment and empirical advance, while avoiding partisan 
political polemic, through paper presentations and discussion in 
relation to one or more of the following sets of questions:



1) Theory: Which theories are relevant and appropriate for upholding a 
Left geography? And how have these changed over time?



2) Positions: How do Left geographers position themselves within the 
discipline as a field of power? How has this positioning evolved and 
transformed over the last decades?



3) Policy: How do Left geographers position themselves in relation to 
and deal with policy concerns in the context of wider issues policy and 
political relevance in their work?



4) Public Geography: Is there such a thing as public geography today, as 
there was once in the past? What is the actual and possible role of 
geographers on the Left as public intellectuals in contemporary societies?



5) Gauche Plurielle: Can we speak of a singular geography of the Left or 
about many Left geographies? What are the differences between radical 
and oppositional Left geographies, on the one hand, and those more 
closely located on the mainstream political Left? And what about the 
Left geographies of ethnic and cultural minorities and other identity 
groups?



6) Left and Right: What distinguishes a Left geography from a Right 
geography and does the binary opposition still hold? Is Left Geography a 
synonym of Critical Geography?



7) Substantive Issues: To what extent Is Left Geography still motivated 
by a political desire to reduce poverty, mitigate social, economic, 
political and environmental injustices and aim for wider 
democratization? What other issues are important?



Please express your interest in participating along with an outline of 
the paper you have in mind at the first opportunity. Final abstracts 
(250 words max.) should be sent by email to both session convenors by 24 
January 2006.







Justin Beaumont
Urban and Regional Studies Institute (URSI)
Faculty of Spatial Sciences, University of Groningen
P.O. Box 800, 9700 AV Groningen
THE NETHERLANDS
Direct: 00 31 (0)50 363 6910
Secr: -3895/ -3896/ -3897, Fax: -3901
Email: j.r.beaumont at rug.nl
Web: www.rug.nl/frw/