Contemporary urban studies are increasingly influenced by new
ideas from disciplines such as ethnography, sociology or architectural studies;
several current spinoff fields such as cultural studies, new cultural
geography, and critical urban studies have made it their goal to address these
developments synergistically.
The inclusion of new methodology as well as conceptual and
theoretical background from other fields has widened the field of classic
approaches to the city in a remarkable way. Newer methods such as discourse
analysis, actor-network-theory, or milieu-studies have raised critical thoughts
about current developments in cities, especially in the global North. This
focus has also now begun to extend to areas and regions yet unparsed by the
sometimes narrow lenses of western academia and its methods. Indeed, new
theories of “the urban” are seen as critically necessary to overcome our
reified and, in some cases, outdated paradigms about and approaches to the city
(Brenner & Schmid, 2012, 2013; Parnell & Robinson, 2012; Robinson,
2002, 2005, 2013; Roy, 2009, 2011).
This two-day workshop seeks therefore to explore and showcase
new ways of understanding and approaching the contemporary city by critically
addressing a wider discussion of its methods and concepts. Our intention is to
shed light on the research process and how methodology and theory shape the
‘look’ at the city, and additionally to explore suggestions to overcoming or
developing existing and new paradigms. This workshop brings together theories,
methods, and scholars of diverse fields to incite a fruitful debate about this
often neglected aspect of urban studies, and promote the transdisciplinary
development of new urban thought. In this light, we invite researchers of all
disciplines dealing with ‘the urban’ to showcase current projects, but also to
discuss speculative approaches, test cases, and new theories.
The main goals of this workshop are to promote:
- Rigorous discussion about the methods and concepts surrounding current urban research, and the inclusion of interdisciplinary and not-yet-mainstream approaches,
- The inclusion of doctoral and postdoctoral researchers in such discussions, and
- Networking and collaboration among critical urban researchers across disciplinary and national borders.
Literature:
Brenner, N., & Schmid, C. (2012). Planetary Urbanisation.
In M. Gandy (Ed.), Urban Constellations
(pp. 10–13). Berlin: Jovis.
Brenner, N., & Schmid, C. (2013). The “Urban Age”in
Question. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research.
Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1468-2427.12115/full
Parnell, S., & Robinson, J. (2012). (Re)theorizing Cities
from the Global South: Looking Beyond Neoliberalism. Urban
Geography, 33(4),
593–617.
Robinson, J. (2002). Global and World Cities: A View from off
the Map. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research,
26(3), 531–554.
Robinson, J. (2005). Urban geography: world cities, or a
world of cities. Progress in Human Geography,
29(6), 757–765.
Robinson, J. (2013). The urban now: Theorizing cities beyond
the new. European Journal of Cultural Studies, 16(6), 659–677.
Roy, A. (2009). The 21st-Century Metropolis: New Geographies
of Theory. Regional Studies, 43(6), 819–830.
Roy, A. (2011). Urbanisms, worlding practices and the theory
of planning. Planning Theory, 10(1),
6–15.
Location:
Georg-Simmel-Zentrum für Metropolenforschung, Mohrenstraße
41, 10117 Berlin
Organizers:
Dr. des. Mary Dellenbaugh
Geography Department, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin,
dellenma@geo.hu-berlin.de
Dr. Thomas Dörfler
Center for Methods, University of Lüneburg/Leuphana,
thomas.doerfler@leuphana.de
Registration fee:
A nominal donation of 20€ (10€ for students) will be requested to
cover refreshments and coffee breaks.The conference dinner will be held on the first evening at 7:30pm at Brauhaus Lemke in Hackscher Markt. The 3-course dinner costs an additional 27€.
Registration:
A few spots are still available! Registration is possible until Friday July 4th under dellenma@geo.hu-berlin.de. Please indicate if you would like to take part in the conference dinner, if you require a vegetarian meal, and if you will be paying the full fee or the student fee.