RESEARCH ASSISTANT/ASSOCIATE ON KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE IN LAND MANAGEMENT

RESEARCH ASSISTANT/ASSOCIATE ON KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE IN LAND MANAGEMENT
Newcastle University, School of Agriculture, Food & Rural Development (Centre for Rural Economy)
£23,002 - £26,666 p.a.
Closing Date: 8 January 2008

Based in the Centre for Rural Economy within the School of Agriculture, Food & Rural Development, you will work on the research project 'Science in the Field: Understanding the Changing Role of Expertise in the Rural Economy', funded by the UK Research Councils' Rural Economy and Land Use Programme (RELU). The research will explore the role of field-level advisers as knowledge brokers between scientific research and land management practice, focusing on the knowledge exchange practices of rural vets, wildlife ecologists, and land agents / surveyors. For one day a week, the researcher will also provide research support and analysis to the Director's Office of the RELU Programme. You must have a track record of qualitative research in a social science discipline and should have, or be near to completing, a postgraduate research degree in a relevant social science discipline.

The post will start in April 2008 and is for 2.5 years in duration.

For further particulars and details see http://www.ncl.ac.uk/vacancies/vacancy.phtml?ref=D2419R

Job Ref: D2419R


Jeremy Phillipson
Assistant Director
Rural Economy and Land Use Programme
Centre for Rural Economy
School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development
University of Newcastle
NE1 7RU
jeremy.phillipson@ncl.ac.uk

RELU Web site
http://www.relu.ac.uk

CRE Web site
http://www.ncl.ac.uk/cre/

Subject: Whats Working in Community Development Conference. June 23rd-25th 2008

Subject: Whats Working in Community Development Conference. June 23rd-25th 2008





** Please circulate widely **



Hello friends and colleagues,



We are very pleased by the response to our upcoming conference, What's Working in Community Development, and we look forward to welcoming you to this special gathering. As you know, the conference is scheduled for June 23rd - 25th, 2008, at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada.



The pre-conference announcement can be downloaded from: http://www.horizonscda.ca/PDF%20Files/PreConfLo.pdf



Remember if you are submitting an abstract or presentation outline, we must receive it by December 31st, 2007. The call for abstracts/presentations can be downloaded from: http://www.horizonscda.ca/PDF%20Files/AbstractsLo.pdf



Due to popular demand, we have decided to open our on-line registration system now, instead of in February, as originally planned (the final conference program will be available in early February, after the abstracts have all been reviewed). The conference can accommodate 300 participants. 100 spaces are delegated for participants from Atlantic Canada,100 for participants from other parts of North America, and 100 from the other six UN regions in the world (Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, Middle East, Oceania). Spaces will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis, and then people will be placed on a waiting list in case quotas from other regions are not filled.



Here's how the registration system works:



* Follow this link to get started: http://www.horizonscda.ca/upcoming

* Look for the Conference Registration heading, and follow the instructions once you're there.



Looking forward to seeing you!



The Horizons Team

P.O. Box 2404 Wolfville NS, B4P 2S3

Phone: (902) 542-0156 Fax: (902) 542-4765

E-mail: admin@horizonscda.ca Web: www.horizonscda.ca



If you do not wish to receive further information from Horizons, please reply to this message quoting unsubscribe.

FIT CITIES: BODIES, MOVEMENT, AND PRACTICES OF FITNESS AND SPORT IN THE CONTEMPORARY CITY

RGS ANNUAL CONFERENCE CALL FOR PAPERS

FIT CITIES: BODIES, MOVEMENT, AND PRACTICES OF FITNESS AND SPORT IN THE CONTEMPORARY
CITY

*Alan Latham, Department of Geography, University College London*

*Clare Herrick, Department of Geography, King’s College London*

This group of sessions aims to start new conversations on a topic at once highly prescient and, at
the same time, grossly neglected by geographers: the place of fitness and sport in the
contemporary city.

While the wider sphere touched upon by sport and fitness is courting attention by the human
sciences, sociologists, public health, policy makers and urban planners, opportunities remain for
geographical perspectives. In particular, as government attention in the UK and beyond turns to
ways of encouraging and building physical activity back into the contemporary city, there is scope
for exploration of the ways in which this might unfold and the wider conceptual territory upon
which such activities might tread. Beyond the state, a whole range of sport and fitness practices
(from mass charity fun runs, to urban orienteering and Nordic walking, to parkour and urban
freeriding) point to how urban spaces are being reinterpreted, reworked, and reanimated in all
sorts of surprising ways through the inventiveness of the individual and collective human body.
This paper session will therefore start to try and map out what a urban geography focusing on
issues around sport and fitness might entail, the theoretical and conceptual frameworks upon
which it might fruitfully draw and the empirical domains waiting to be explored.

This group of sessions aims to think about and draw the links between sport and fitness and the
(often problematic) nature of the contemporary city. In particular, it wishes to move away from
discussions of the issues surrounding professional sport and its infrastructure towards the far
more mundane, everyday participatory practices of staying fit.

The organisers invite short abstracts of 200 words relating to (but not limited to) the following
broad thematic areas:

· Geographies of mass sporting participation.

· Urban geography and the ‘fit’ city

· Urban policy, sport and fitness.

· Public space and everyday practices of sport and fitness

· Sociality, community, and sport fitness

· Cultural geographies of sport and fitness

· Sport and geographies of urban justice

· Historical approaches to sport and fitness

· Embodiment and sport

· Urban political ecology and sport/ fitness

· The political economy of urban sporting consumption

· Landscapes of sport and exercise

If you have any inquiries about the sessions please email Clare Herrick (clare.herrick@kcl.ac.uk), or
Alan Latham (alan.latham@ucl.ac.uk).

Please email abstracts to alan.latham@ucl.ac.uk by *January 18, 2008 *

CFP: Towards Transformative Knowledges/Practices for Sustainable Rural Futures

Call for papers: RGS-IBG Annual Conference 2008 - 27-29 August, London.



Title: Towards Transformative Knowledges/Practices for Sustainable Rural
Futures



Sponsored by the Rural Geography Research Group



Convened by the Countryside and Community Research Institute





Within human geography and the social sciences more broadly there is a move
to break up settled, and narrowly drawn, institutional, pedagogic,
theoretical, disciplinary and methodological boundaries as we come to
realize that addressing the intensely complex, hybrid, unstable (yet
intransigent) nature of reality calls for new knowledge
formations/practices. New views of knowledge are exploring/practicing
integrations of theory, practice, politics and methods into new
'non-representational' assemblages of creative movement.



Related to this there is also what Latour calls a 'pixelisation of
politics', where progressive actions can take place at many sites, in many
forms, and at different scales and in different networks. These actions are
(can be) pragmatics of knowledge/practice created within competency groups
clustered around situations of concern and/or potential. Academic attention
focuses on action already in process within communities;
socio-techno-ecological networks; and processes of governance and economics.
Can rural academics identify, join and add value to these? Can rural
academics initiate these?



This session seeks to explore these new terrains of theory/practice "which
matter", in relation to sustainable rural futures. In particular we invite
papers which report upon work where academics (perhaps in interdisciplinary
alliances) are actively working with (rather than on) rural actants (which
may include non-humans) in ways which seek to be transformative in some way
- not least in terms of sustainable socio-ecological formations.



Possible themes (amongst many)



Action research and rural sustainability

Participatory research and rural sustainability

Interdisciplinary research and rural sustainability

Innovative stakeholder engagement strategies

Working with humans and non-humans

Case studies of rural projects working toward sustainable socio-ecological
sustainability in the developed and developing world

Putting non-representational theory into practise (and other theoretical
methodological trajectories)

The ethics and politics of non-representational research





Titles and Abstracts of up to 200 words to be sent to ojones@glos.ac.uk by
12 Jan 2008





Owain Jones

mobile: 07871 572969
office: 01242 715315
home: 01761 472908

Research Fellow
Countryside and Community Research Institute
Dunholme Villa, Park Campus
Cheltenham, GL50 2RH

ojones@glos.ac.uk

Climate Change and Urban Design

>
> CALL FOR PAPERS:
>
>
> CLIMATE CHANGE
> AND URBAN DESIGN
>
> Science, Policy, Education and Best Practice
>
>
> The Third International C.E.U. Congress, Oslo, Norway, 14 - 16
> September 2008-
>
> (Attached and below)
>
>
> ABSTRACTS DUE February 1, 2008
> ANNOUNCEMENTS of Accepted Papers March 1, 2008
> COMPLETED DRAFTS DUE June 1, 2008
>
>
> The Topic
> Following successful Congresses in Berlin 2005 and Leeds 2006, the
> Council for European Urbanism will hold its third international
> congress in Oslo, Norway from the 14 th to 16th September 2008.
>
> The congress will discuss the rapidly-evolving topic of "Climate
> Change and Urban Design". Papers are invited on the latest
> implications in science, policy, education and best practice. What
> is the latest science telling us? What are the consequences for
> urban development internationally? What are the practical
> solutions available to reduce climate gas emissions from urban
> settlements and transportation? What strategies are available to
> adapt to changing conditions?
> The congress will welcome government officials, planners,
> architects, social scientists, ecologists, developers, local
> community activists, and all other development stakeholders who
> feel a responsibility to contribute to more sustainable urban
> development.
>
> We invite authors engaged in urban development and climate change
> topics from all parts of the world to submit paper proposals with
> abstracts by February 1, 2008 .
> Announcements of accepted proposals will be on March 1, 2008.
> Completed drafts of papers will be due by June 1, 2008.
>
> Background
> The climate change agenda has clearly reached a world-wide tipping
> point. Yet while there is growing consensus that the phenomenon
> poses a major threat to future human well-being, legitimate debate
> remains about what is to be done to reduce atmospheric carbon
> levels, as well as to adapt to changes that already appear
> likely. In particular there is ongoing debate about how the cost
> of various options correlates to potential benefits. Debate also
> continues about how the issue of climate change relates to the
> larger agenda of sustainable development.
> The built environment is well known to be one of the largest
> current contributors to greenhouse gases. Therefore those who
> work in the planning, design and building professions have a key
> role in working to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide. While much
> work has been done to decrease contributions from individual
> buildings, the role of urban design in addressing climate change
> remains more obscure, and more contentious.
>
> To be sure, buildings are not passive emitters of greenhouse
> gases. They shape the patterns of activity and consumption of
> their occupants, which in turn profoundly affect emissions. Must
> occupants drive between scattered locations, perhaps for long
> distances? Do they spend large percentages of time in buildings
> isolated from a functional public realm, with high patterns of
> consumption and emissions? Are those buildings sited in remote new
> developments where significant areas of existing vegetation have
> been replaced with paved or reflective surfaces? How does the
> urban street and block pattern contribute? What about the mix of
> uses, and the distribution of daily activities and needs?
>
> There has been much discussion of the dramatic carbon reductions
> possible per person in a higher-density urban morphology,
> particularly in comparison to automobile-dominated "sprawl"
> development. But what are the factors to be teased out? If we
> are to pursue such a goal, what are the issues to be addressed in
> economics, market dynamics, project permitting, legal regulation?
> How are these issues being addressed successfully, and what further
> challenges and opportunities remain?
>
> What about the preference of some consumers for lower density
> neighborhoods, or the argument that it is more sustainable to
> accommodate a settlement distribution or "transect" from the
> highest human use to the most pristine natural environment,
> including lower-density agricultural settlements? Does the new
> agenda imply, as some argue, that only very high densities will be
> viable? Or can a mixture that includes some lower-density
> morphologies be sustained in combination with other forms of
> mitigation? Is such a range of densities more economically
> sustainable, as some argue?
>
> Even at high densities, a wide range of morphologies is possible.
> What are the benefits and tradeoffs of the alternatives? For
> example, are dense high rise cities the inevitable best option?
> What about the negative energy impacts of tall buildings that may
> feature extensive curtain wall glazing, or require other high-
> energy conditioning, maintenance or repair? How do tall buildings
> perform across socio-economic classes, or in promoting social
> diversity and economic sustainability? How do they perform in
> repairability, adaptive re-use, or typical life-cycle?
>
> What about the advantages of "green" retrofits of existing
> buildings, in comparison to new green buildings? Since roughly
> half of the energy use of a building is in its construction, is
> there credible evidence to suggest that adaptive re-use of heritage
> buildings should be a greater priority? Are there examples of
> traditional urban fabric that offer better models of sustainable
> morphology, such as medium rise "liner" buildings, or high-density
> terraces? And do traditional buildings offer any significant
> morphological benefits for the sustainability challenge?
>
> These questions remind us that emissions are a cumulative
> phenomenon, and must be considered over whole systems and whole
> life cycles. Clearly a reduction in one targeted parameter is of
> little use if it results in the increase of another parameter by an
> equal or greater amount. Moreover, greenhouse gas emissions are
> only one parameter of sustainability that must be considered in
> balance with others.
> We encourage papers that discuss the inter-disciplinary nature of
> this challenge, and the need for a more "joined-up" approach. We
> particularly encourage discussion of effective new diagnostic and
> prescriptive tools to optimize performance across whole systems and
> whole life cycles.
>
> Themes Within the Topic
> We welcome your papers on one of the six themes below. Where
> necessary, a paper may combine two or more themes.
>
> THEME ONE: Climate Change and Urban Morphology - The Evidence
> What is the scientific evidence for or against particular links
> between urban form and contributions of greenhouse gases? What are
> the interrelationships? What are the pitfalls in research, and in
> its application? Papers may survey previous literature and/or
> present new research.
>
> THEME TWO: Climate Change and Best Practice in Urban Design
> What are the implications of climate change research for standards
> of best practice? What does the evolving evidence suggest about
> the relative importance of such parameters as density, transit
> modes, mixed use, building height, social diversity and others?
> What about the relative benefits of retrofit versus new
> construction? How can best practice address issues of market
> acceptance and consumer choice?
>
> THEME THREE: Climate Change, Urban Design and Public Policy
> What are the steps being taken to address the contribution of urban
> design on climate change through public policy, and how well are
> they succeeding? What steps are being taken to mitigate initial
> diseconomies, create new incentives, ease regulatory restrictions,
> and shift market behaviour?
>
> THEME FOUR: Climate Change, Education and Research
> How should academic institutions respond to the climate change
> agenda? What are the implications for inter-disciplinary and
> inter-institutional research? How should design schools respond to
> the challenge? What alternative curricula are implied or required?
>
> THEME FIVE: Case Studies of Urban Projects and Their Impacts
> Paper in this category should present one or more case studies with
> detailed assessment of success in mitigating greenhouse gases, or
> adapting to the consequences of climate change. They may discuss
> challenges of entitlement, market acceptance, economic performance,
> and other project requirements.
>
> THEME SIX: Innovative New Strategies
> Papers in this category should discuss new theoretical or pragmatic
> approaches, such as certification schemes (LEED-ND in the USA,
> BREEAM in the UK, et al.), trading schemes, new coding approaches,
> and other innovations.
> If your paper does not fit within one of the six themes above, be
> advised that we will accept a limited number of papers under
> general or alternative topics.
>
> The Papers
> Papers should be at least 3,000 words and no more than 6,000. Bear
> in mind that speaker presentation time will be no more than 30
> minutes, or about 3,600 words for most speakers. Papers should be
> written in 12 point Times Roman font, in Microsoft Word or
> equivalent format. Footnotes and/or references should appear at
> the end of papers. Authors agree that papers may be published in
> the Congress proceedings. Full guidelines will be sent to selected
> authors.
>
> The Abstracts
> Abstracts should be 12 point Times Roman font, in Microsoft Word or
> equivalent format. Please include your full name, full address and
> affiliation details with an abstract of your presentation of
> between 100 and 300 words. You may include a cover letter or
> email message with additional comments.
> ----
> Please submit proposals with abstracts to the following email address:
> climate.change.2007@gmail.com
>
> -
> Academic Committee:
> Michael Mehaffy (Chair), Sustasis Foundation, US
> ( michael.mehaffy@gmail.com )
> Harald Bodenschatz, Ph.D., Professor, Technical University of
> Berlin, DE ( harald.bodenschatz@t-online.de)
> Charles Bohl, Ph.D., Professor, University of Miami, US
> ( cbohl@miami.edu)
> Sarah Chaplin, Head, School of Architecture and Landscape, Kingston
> University, UK ( S.Chaplin@kingston.ac.uk)
> Harald Kegler, Ph.D.,Laboratory for Regional Planning, DE
> ( harald_kegler@yahoo.com)
> Susan Parham, Ph.D. Candidate, London School of Economics, UK
> ( sp@cagconsult.co.uk)
> Arne Sodal, architect, C.E.U. Norway ( arnsoeda@online.no )
> Lucien Steil, The Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment
> (UK) ( lucien.steil@princes-foundation,org)
> Emily Talen, Ph.D, Professor, Arizona State University, US
> ( etalen@asu.edu)
>
> -----------------------------------------
>
> The Call for Papers is also attached.
>
>
> For other information about the 2008 C.E.U. Congress, and
> preliminary registration of participants, please contact the
> congress organizers:
>
> Audun Engh.
> C.E.U. Norway
> St. Olavs gate 9, 0165 Oslo, Norway.
> Tel. +47.92 62 26 26
> Email: audun.engh@gmail.com
>
>
> C.E.U. - Council for European Urbanism
>
> www.ceunet.org
>

CFP: “The Lie of the Land”: Rural Lies, Myths and Realities

Please see below a call for papers for a session in the RGS-IBG Annual
Conference 2008 (27-29 August).

Title: “The Lie of the Land”: Rural Lies, Myths and Realities

Sponsored by the Rural Geography Research Group

Convenors:
Gareth Enticott (Cardiff University)
Keith Halfacree (Swansea University)

In May 2006, Channel 4 screened “The Lie of the Land”, a documentary by
Molly Dineen. Originally intended to be about hunting, the documentary ended
up focusing on traditional productive agriculture in marginal South-west
England. In doing so it provoked equal amounts of outrage, praise, anger and
shock. It showed in graphic detail some of the less attractive realities of
rural living: from the routine slaughter of healthy yet unprofitable
new-born calves on dairy farms, to the acute poverty of many farmers’
day-to-day lives, to the harsh impacts of reforms to agricultural subsidies.
In the agricultural press, farmers were equally pleased and angered: pleased
because the film served to highlight the plight of productive agriculture
but also angered because some felt that it undermined those seeking to
develop quality products.

The title of the documentary – “The Lie of the Land” – resonates powerfully
in more general ways too. It signifies a set of long held ‘lies’ about the
English countryside – from the ‘lie’ of a bucolic rural idyll and the
(unseen) ‘lies’ of modern agriculture. These lies, though, are not
necessarily told by farmers but arguably more commonly by governments and
the urban population.

For this session, therefore, we are calling for papers that deal with the
implications for rural geography raised by the “Lie of the Land”. In
particular, papers are invited that deal with the following themes:

1) Rural Lies and Myths. The title of Molly Dineen’s documentary brings to
the surface wide-ranging questions about rural lies, myths and realities.
Who lies about the rural and who is aware of those untruths? What rural
myths exist? How do they circulate around rural populations? What impact do
they have? How are lies manifested and by whom or what: humans, nonhumans,
topographies/geomorphologies?

2) The practice of agriculture in (marginal) rural areas. How have recent
reforms to agricultural policy affected rural livelihoods? For example, how
has the management of the Rural Payments Agency impacted upon farmers? How
have changes to the management of agri-environment schemes, animal health
policies and the Common Agricultural Policy generally altered the practice
of farming today?

3) Methodological Lies. Dineen’s documentary is situated as a journey of
discovery and accidental realisation of a set of rural problems. What other
methodological journeys have researchers experienced that has awakened them
to rural lies and truths? To what extent are the truths researchers say
about the rural based on purposive or accidental journeys? The documentary
also raises the question of how geographers should deal with lying. Which
methods are best suited for exploring and capturing lies? Does it matter if
research participants lie? What untruths do researchers themselves tell?

Please submit abstracts of not more than 250 words by January 31st 2008 to
either:
Dr Keith Halfacree
Swansea University
k.h.halfacree@swansea.ac.uk
or:
Dr Gareth Enticott
Cardiff University
enticottg@cardiff.ac.uk

CALL FOR PAPERS -- 9th Essex Conference in Critical Political Theory -- Capitalism, Faith, Nature -- 12-13 June 2008

9th ESSEX CONFERENCE IN

CRITICAL POLITICAL THEORY





CAPITALISM, FAITH, NATURE







Call for Papers



Dates: 12-13 June 2008
Location: University of Essex, Colchester, UK
Call for Papers Deadline: 30 March, 2008.
Website: 9th Essex Conference in Critical Political Theory

All Inquiries to: polcon@essex.ac.uk





Keynote Speakers

Professor Jane Bennett, The Johns Hopkins University (USA)

Professor William E. Connolly, The Johns Hopkins University (USA)



Organizing Committee at the University of Essex

Jason Glynos, Department of Government, University of Essex (UK)

David Howarth, Centre for Theoretical Studies, University of Essex (UK)

Aletta J. Norval, Centre for Theoretical Studies, University of Essex (UK)

Sarah Hartley, PhD Candidate, Department of Government, University of Essex (UK)

Blendi Kajsiu, PhD Candidate, Department of Government, University of Essex (UK)





The Conference Theme: Capitalism, Faith, Nature



ONLY a few years ago, the use of abstract nouns like 'capitalism', 'faith' and 'nature' - not to mention their conjunction as a series of terms - would have seemed a little unusual, perhaps even antiquated. Yet any history of the present today highlights the continuing pertinence of these signifiers for critically engaging with a growing range of social and political phenomena.



ONE obvious issue here is the rise of new fundamentalisms - dogmatic and monist faiths - whether of an economic, political, religious, or national character. Another is the peculiar linking together of heterogeneous doctrines and sensibilities, such as Christianity, corporate capitalism and conservativism in the United States, for instance, into new assemblages and projects that directly impinge upon existing political institutions and democratic settlements. In part, these new fundamentalisms constitute a reactionary backlash against the emergence of novel cultural identities and existential faiths that seek to pluralize the pluralism of existing democratic institutions and practices, or put forward demands for greater freedom and equality. Fundamentalisms are also organised against efforts to reorganize our geo-political landscapes - or construct new transnational networks - so as to foster greater cooperation and security across once sedimented territorial divisions.



IN equal measure, there are pressing questions about the place of nature in the contemporary world, whether this is understood in terms of the intensifying environmental crisis, or debates about the character and role of 'human nature' in our increasingly technological societies, or with respect to the character of human and political subjectivity. Underpinning many of these new concerns are further questions about new forms of political economy at the local, national and global levels, and their impact on our changing conceptions of space, time, culture and speed.



HOW do we problematize and critically explain these new phenomena? In what ways can various fundamentalisms be challenged and engaged with in the name of a democratic politics that is not itself fundamentalist in character? What are the limits and potentials of contemporary political and ethical theory in addressing these new issues? What are the prospects and limits of pluralizing pluralism? Ought we to restrict agency to humans, or does it extend to the material and non-human world more generally? What is the relationship between nature and culture? How can cultural theory respond to recent developments in science? What is the relationship between cultural theory, materialism and naturalism? What kind of ethos needs to be cultivated in the face of these new challenges, and how can it be brought about? How do these broad sets of issues and questions get addressed in specific contexts and policy arenas? And what theoretical languages and methods are best able to respond to these changes and trends? These are just some of the tasks of critical political theory today.



THE NINTH CONFERENCE IN CRITICAL POLITICAL THEORY at the University of Essex provides a space to address and engage with these issues. The conference has achieved a renowned reputation for the quality of the papers presented and the large number of international participants. Previous guest speakers have included Michael Hardt, Wendy Brown, Judith Squires, Quentin Skinner, Joan Copjec, James Tully, Fred Dallmayr, Bonnie Honig, David Owen, David Campbell, Simon Critchley, Ernesto Laclau, and Chantal Mouffe, among others.



THE conference provides an important opportunity to engage with the contemporary challenges and possibilities of social and political theory and to exchange views on ongoing research. We welcome papers from young scholars, postdoctoral researchers, and postgraduates from a wide variety of backgrounds in the field of social and political theory. But as is customary with the Essex conference, the themes are in part shaped by the thought and writings of our invited guests, and this year is no exception. We are delighted to host William Connolly and Jane Bennett.






WILLIAM CONNOLLY and JANE BENNETT are two of the leading political theorists of our time, and they both speak directly and powerfully to the problems and opportunities of the new conjuncture. Though far from complacent about the complexity of the issues confronting us today, each of them consistently seeks new lines of flight and intellectual nourishment that can advance the ideals of democracy, freedom, and pluralism. Their various writings straddle a wide range of debates about pluralism, nature, bio-ethics, materialism, global politics, radical democracy, the limits and possibilities of contemporary liberal theory, as well as discussions in the philosophy of science and social explanation. Most importantly, their work is persistently open to new events and possibilities, and focussed on movements and practices that invent new rights or promote new identities, which may or may not have been acknowledged on established cultural fields.



Broad Themes Include

* Politics of Immanence and Transcendence

* Varieties of Pluralism

* Politics and Technology

* Universalism and Particularism

* Democracy and Representation

* Capitalism, Multiculturalism, Globalization

* Identity Politics and Mobilization

* Subjectivity and Psychoanalysis

* Religion, Faith and Pluralism

* Fundamentalisms

* New Ecologies

* Philosophies of Nature

* Political Economy

* The Politics of Space and Territoriality

* Rethinking Identity/Difference



Biographies



JANE BENNETT is Professor and Chair of Political Theory at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, USA. Her published books include The Enchantment of Modernity: Crossings, Energetics, and Ethics (Princeton University Press, 2001); Thoreau's Nature: Ethics, Politics, and The Wild (Sage Publications, 1994); and Unthinking Faith and Enlightenment: Nature and State in a Post-Hegelian Era (New York University Press, 1994).



WILLIAM E. CONNOLLY is Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Political Science at John Hopkins University. His recent books include Pluralism (Duke University Press, 2005); Neuropolitics: Thinking, Culture, Politics (University of Minnesota, 2002); and Why I Am Not a Secularist (University of Minnesota, 1999). His most recent book Capitalism and Christianity, American Style (Duke University Press) will be available in 2008.



JASON GLYNOS is Lecturer in Political Theory in the Department of Government at the University of Essex, UK. He is also Director of the Masters Programme in Ideology and Discourse Analysis at the University of Essex. He is co-editor of Lacan & Science (Karnac, 2002) and Traversing the Fantasy (Ashgate, 2005). His most recent book is Logics of Critical Explanation in Social and Political Theory (Routledge, 2007), co-authored with David Howarth.



DAVID HOWARTH is Senior Lecturer in Political Theory in the Department of Government at the University of Essex, UK. He is also Co-Director of the Centre for Theoretical Studies. His published books include Discourse (Open University Press, 2000); Discourse Theory and Political Analysis (Manchester University Press, 2000); Discourse Theory in European Politics (Macmillan, 2005). His most recent book is Logics of Critical Explanation in Social and Political Theory (Routledge, 2007).



ALETTA NORVAL is Reader in Political Theory in the Department of Government, University of Essex, where she is also Director of the Doctoral Programme in Ideology and Discourse Analysis, and Co-Director of the Centre for Theoretical Studies. Her most recent book is entitled Aversive Democracy: Inheritance and Originality in the Democratic Tradition (Cambridge University Press, 2007).



Conference fees for Staff: £50



Conference fees for Students:



£30 Paper Givers (£25 for Essex students)



£35 Attendance Only (£30 for Essex students)



£45 If institutionally funded (£40 for Essex students)







________________________________________

Dr. Jason Glynos

Director, Graduate Programme in Ideology and Discourse Analysis

Department of Government

University of Essex

Wivenhoe Park

Colchester CO3 4SQ

UK



Tel. (01206) 872515

e-mail: ljglyn@essex.ac.uk

Call for papers: Sustainable development and the city

You will find below the call for papers of an international symposium on the question of sustainable development and the city (29th and 30th may 2008; Saint-Etienne, France).


http://portail.univ-st-etienne.fr/1196954172093/0/fiche_04__actualite/


Abstracts should be sent to organizers by January 31st, 2008.

Regards.

Vincent Béal
CERAPSE-TemiS
Université Jean Monnet Saint-Etienne