We live in a time in which global mobility is one of the central themes of several political agendas. It is subject to contestation, resistance and attempts of redefinition, in debates that are often shaped around the narrative of ʻidentities under threatʼ.
Building on the ‘mobility turn’ theorised by sociologist John Urry (2007), Stephen Greenblatt, in his manifesto on Cultural Mobility (2009), began to explore the ‘tension between individual agency and structural constraintʼ, in both the present and the past. This cross-disciplinary conference aims to investigate the dynamics of mobility and immobility in relation to structures of power. How does (or did) power regulate the mobility and immobility of people, objects and ideas across time and space? Inversely, in which ways have matters of movement resisted and altered injunctions placed upon individuals, groups and/or objects by those in power? What effects do such dialectics of movement have in reshaping the cultural and social realms?
We invite PhD students and early career researchers from any department within the Arts & Humanities and Social Sciences to contribute with 20-minute presentations, in English, that address, but are not necessarily limited to, the following issues:
- (Im)mobility and construction of social and cultural identities
- (Im)mobility, law and freedom
- Migration
- Translation, language mobility and power
- Bodily (im)mobilities and disability
- Maps, travelogues and postcolonialism
- Movements of people in urban and rural environments
- Hidden or concealed mobilities of people, objects, ideas
- Mobility of academics and intellectuals
- Digital technologies, social media, flow of information and politics
- Artistic, literary and musical interpretations of mobility-power dynamics
To submit a paper, please send a presentation title and an abstract of approximately 300 words, along with your CV and contact details, to lahp.mobilities@gmail.com by 30 July 2017. Applicants will be notified of the outcome by the end of August 2017.
Some small bursaries (up to the amount of £100 per person) are available for presenting attendees travelling from outside of London. Please note that these are intended for travel only. To apply for a bursary, please include in your submission a detailed estimation of your travel expenses.
For more information visit LAHP webpage or write us an e-mail.
PDF version available online, just click here.
We look forward to receiving your submission!
The (Im)mobility committee
(Im)mobility: Dialectics of Movement, Power and Resistance 