The Cultures of the Suburbs International Research Network 2nd Symposium
'Out of Control Suburbs? Comparing Representations of Order, Disorder and Sprawl' will be held on 27-28 June 2013 at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, USA.
Keynote speakers are to be confirmed. The Call for Presentations/Posters below comes from Jill Sullivan, Network Research Facilitator for the Leverhulme Cultures of the Suburbs Research Network.
Following the success of our 2011 Inaugural Symposium, our second meeting seeks to discuss the nature and representation of suburbs, suburban life and sprawl whether local, regional or global. Where are the margins of suburbia and do they represent order, disorder or nostalgia? How is sprawl defined – as organic social process or negative cultural impact? And how is it experienced by diverse communities and individuals? What are the aesthetics of order and sprawl? How do representations of suburban sprawl and disorder converge or diverge between the Global South and North – and within the Global North?
Questions that the symposium aims to address include: how are order and disorder understood and represented in relation to suburban zoning, planning and placemaking; greenbelt spaces, public parks and private gardens? How do poverty, physical deterioration and crime change the ways that particular communities are envisaged, and for whom are these places policed and controlled? In what ways would a “Right to the Suburb” differ from a “Right to the City”? How does the disorderly mobility of suburbanites – pedestrians, commuters and migrants – give rise to new visions for managing their movements at various scales? In what ways do the artistic, social, civic, sporting and religious aspects of a community shift and change according to the sprawling sites and changing infrastructures around them? And how do children and their elders reflect on the order or disorder of their suburbs?
In a continuation of the practice that worked so effectively at our first symposium, and in order to encourage maximum participation and dialogue, we welcome proposals for 10-minute papers from a range of disciplines including (but not limited to) the arts and humanities, social sciences, and applied sciences such as Architecture, Design and Planning.
Please submit a 250 word proposal for your paper by Thursday 1 November 2012 to Jill Sullivan, Network Research Facilitator at
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Once again, we have a limited number of travel bursaries (£100 each) available to postgraduate students who would like to participate in the symposium. If you would like to apply for one of these bursaries, please include an application with your proposal, outlining the reasons why you would like to attend and how you feel your work fits with the theme of the symposium.
Website: http://suburbs.exeter.ac.uk
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