The city in the United States is and has been etched with boundaries. Lines crisscross the map of the nation dividing states and cities and counties, and perhaps more importantly in recent years, suburban jurisdictions and their resources from urban areas. Gated communities and fortress like buildings inspired by modernist architecture cut off the flow of people and their access to goods, services, and each other. What, when & where
The GHI in Washington organizes the “Bounded Democracy: Global Workshop on American Urbanisms”
March 1-2, 2018
Deadline & how to apply
The deadline for proposals is December 15, 2017. Please send a short abstract of your proposed contribution (no more than 500 words) together with a brief academic CV in a single PDF file to Susanne Fabricius at fabricius@ghi-dc.org. If you have questions concerning the conference, please contact Anke Ortlepp (ortlepp@ghi-dc.org) or Bryant Simon (simon@ghi-dc.org).
Other info, Links & conditions
See the complete call here. Questions we hope to explore include, but are not limited to:
- Who has the power to make and unmake public spaces? How does the conception of the public change? How do place and region and history figure into the formulation of the public and the control over these spaces?
- What is a democratic public space?
- What is the relationship among architecture, the built environment, and public space?
- What do boundaries look like? What is the relationship between physical and symbolic boundaries? Who builds these boundaries and how?
- What is the role of the state, commerce, the arts, and popular culture in construction of urban environments? How does this change over time?
- What is the role of power and agency in the making of cities and the making of public space? How is this power and agency exercised? What is the role of the state? Does the state’s role differ over time and place, nation and regime?
- How can we put these questions into a global and transnational perspective?
We invite papers that engage with these questions. The workshop will be conducted in English, and the organizers expect to be able to cover the transportation and accommodation costs of conference participants.
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