[URBANTH-L]Call for Submissions: Place, Space, Emergence

[Angela Jancius]

CFP: Place, Space, Emergence
A Special Issue of Western Folklore

Theories of space and place have come recently to the fore in several
disciplines, including folklore. Scholars suggest that transnational forces
such as global capitalism, tourism, diasporas, and media/technology have
transformed and "unbound" local places, so that places are defined by their
relationship to what lies beyond their boundaries, rather than being
entirely self-defined. But has space/place previously been as self-contained
as recently implied, or is place once again being discursively constructed
as somehow premodern?

We seek to contribute to and expand upon this interdisciplinary exchange by
exploring ethnographically the emergent nature of space and/or place through
expressive culture and material behavior. Emergence suggests process, flow,
becoming, and event. How, why, and for whom do particular places emerge? How
are they events, happenings, performances? Who is the audience and for what
purpose? In what way do places flow, and in what direction? What is their
relationship to those spaces outside? How are insides and outsides
constitutive, and what are the roles of boundaries? We invite interested
scholars to contribute their thoughts to this discussion.

Topics & themes might include
. Valorization of place and space
. Commodification
. Ideologies of power and solidarity
. Globalization
. Connection, linkage, process, and flow
. Negotiation
. Boundaries
. Time
. Public/private/gendered space
. Communities of practice

September 30, 2005 is the deadline for 300-word proposals. Final versions
due September 30, 2006.

Lisa Gabbert
Utah State University
Department of English
3200 Old Main Hill
Logan, UT 84321-3200
435-797-2721
Email: lgabbert at english.usu.edu