[URBANTH-L]CFP: Hyper-Traditions. Tenth Conference of IASTE

[Angela Jancius]

Hyper-Traditions

Tenth Conference of the International Association for the Study of
Traditional Environments
December 15 - 18, 2006
Thammasat University - Bangkok, Thailand

February 17, 2006:  Deadline for receipt of abstracts and CVs

Call For Abstracts
For scholars and researchers interested in the study of traditional
environments, the far-reaching transformations brought by globalization
require not only a recalibration of the idea of tradition but also a
substantial repositioning within a shifting intellectual environment.  While
it is clear that contemporary forces of globalization have proven
transformative, the transformations have largely defied prediction.
Contrary to the expectations that globalization would act as a totalizing
force, somehow erasing "tradition" and challenging "cultural coherence,"
investigations reveal that globalization may more accurately be said to have
destabilized the idea of tradition as a repository of authentic ideas and
customs.  In this way, it has intensified the process of de-linking identity
and place and, by extension, intensified the deterritorialization of
tradition: a process that has challenged the idea of tradition as an
authentic expression of a geographically specific, culturally homogenous and
coherent group of people.  However, this process is not entirely new.  Prior
moments of globalization, such as colonialism, have also brought about the
deterritorialization of tradition and provide useful points of comparison to
the present moment.  Prior IASTE conferences have explored the effects of
globalization upon understandings of space and place; inquired into the
post-traditional condition; analyzed the implications of migration,
diasporas, and emerging hybridities; and asked whether or nor the millennium
marked the "end of tradition."  For the 2006 International IASTE Conference,
participants are invited to investigate a new dimension of the
transformation of tradition:  hyper-traditions.

We use the term "hyper" to refer to social and cultural realms, created and
maintained through contemporary technologies of communication,
transportation, and information transfer that have radically transformed
notions of time and space, forever changing the meanings of distance and
immediacy.  Hyper-reality is just one of a repertoire of technologies that
have altered time and space at different historical moments, including older
technologies like world exhibitions.  As one form of current time-space
altering media, the hyper-real entails simulation:  in this realm, the
simulation is a map that precedes the territory to which it refers, a map
that effectively creates the territory and becomes the reality itself.  In
this way, perhaps as a response to the perceived "end of tradition" or "loss
of heritage" (seen by some as an inevitable by-product of globalization),
hyper-traditions emerge in part as references to histories that did not
happen, or practices de-linked from the cultures and locations from which
they are assumed to have originated.  To the degree that they indicate a
search for or re-engagement with heritage conducted by those who perceive
its loss, hyper-traditions raise fundamental questions about subjectivity in
a globalized world.  At the same time, many scholars have illustrated how
these transformations of subjectivity offer radical and liberatory
possibilities through emerging practices of mimesis, identity formation, and
knowledge creation: How do these practices change our understanding of
tradition?

There are countless contemporary examples of phenomena that can be seen as
hyper-traditions:  neotraditional towns whose history is invented by the
developers who create them and embraced by their inhabitants; intensifying
fundamentalisms that articulate a political agenda based on the perceived
loss of heritage, customs, morality, and/or identity in a globalized world;
the political struggles over sites of varying religious and historical
significance; and the rise of global tourism and the desire of the
hyper-tourist to see and experience the "traditions" of particular
destinations without the inconveniences that actual exposure may require.
Indeed, hyper-traditions cannot be separated from the apparatus and
relations of political economy.  They circulate through global networks and
circuits of capital exchange and serve as mechanisms by which it is possible
to encounter "traditions" from all over the world.  Thus, hyper-traditions
arise in response, and often in direct opposition, to globalization at the
same time that their deployment and resonance depend upon the same advanced
communication infrastructure and technology.

As in past IASTE conferences, scholars and practitioners from such fields as
architecture, architectural history, art history, anthropology, archaeology,
folklore, geography, history, planning, sociology, urban studies, and
related areas are invited to submit papers that address one of the three
main tracks.

>From Simulated Space to "Real" Tradition
Contemporary communication networks have fueled the expansion of simulated
spaces, which may not exist in the physical sense but are nonetheless real
for those who access and occupy them.  Is the uncharted realm of simulacra
space used as the site for the re-imposition of "real" tradition or the
invention of new traditions, or both?  One example of this complex
relationship appears in the film The Truman Show, whose premise, a
fictitious "real-life" television show, influences our understanding of New
Urbanist environments like Seaside, Florida, where the movie was filmed.
Papers in this track will examine how simulated space is mapped and
navigated, and how the idea of tradition can be transformed within and by
the virtual realm.

Hyper-Traditions and "Real" Places
Hyper-reality has opened up new social and cultural realms, from which new
hyper-traditions regularly emerge.  To a certain extent, virtual
representation has become a key instrument for the transmission of "real"
tradition and the act of place-making.  This is evident not simply with
simulated spaces but also with physical spaces that simulate places
embodying "real" traditions.  How have the cultural norms and rules that
govern the hyper-real been absorbed and brought back into "the real"?
Papers in this track will examine the emergence of hyper-traditions:  how
they are shaped by the unique geography of the hyper-real, and how they give
rise to new understandings of social life and/or influence the lived
experience of "the real."

Identity, Heritage, and Migration
Migration is one of the most prominent factors in shifting cultural,
economic, and political geographies throughout the world.  Migration is a
transformative force, not simply for migrants, but also for the places that
have become the loci of migratory flows.  From migration emerge new
identities and cultural formations: hybrid identities and spaces, ethnic
enclaves, etc.  Yet these new hyper-formations are inextricably linked to
the notion of heritage.  What physical and cultural effects does the "hyper"
have on representations of heritage?  In many cases, the experience of
migration also entails a perceived loss of identity, a struggle to preserve
heritage, or the invention of a new heritage.  Papers in this track will
examine the complex relationships between identity, heritage, and migration.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Interested colleagues are invited to submit a short, one-page abstract, not
to exceed 500 words.  Do not place your name on the abstract, but rather
submit an attached one-page curriculum vitae with your address and name.
All authors must submit an electronic copy of their abstract and short CV
via e-mail.  Abstracts and CVs must be placed within the body of the e-mail,
and also as attachments. E-mail this material to iaste at berkeley.edu no later
than February 17, 2006.

Authors must specify their preference for one or two of the above tracks
when submitting abstracts.  Proposals for complete panels are welcome.  All
papers must be written and presented in English.  Following a blind peer
review, papers may be accepted for presentation in the conference and/or
publication in the conference Working Paper Series.
Contributors whose abstracts are accepted must preregister for the
conference, pay registration fees of $375 (which includes a special
discounted $25 IASTE membership fee), and prepare a full-length paper of
20-25 double-spaced pages.  Registered students may qualify for a reduced
registration fee of $175 (which includes a special discounted $25 IASTE
membership fee).  All participants must be IASTE members.  Please note that
expenses associated with hotel accommodations, travel, and additional
excursions are not covered by the registration fees and have to be paid
directly to the designated travel agent.  Registration fees cover the
conference program, conference abstracts, and access to all conference
activities including receptions, keynote panels, and a short tour of nearby
sites.

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
February 17, 2006:  Deadline for receipt of abstracts and CVs
May 1, 2006:  E-mail notification of accepted abstracts for conference
presentation
July 14, 2006:  Deadline for pre-registration and receipt of papers for
possible publication in the Working Paper Series
October 2, 2006:  Notification for accepted papers for the Working Paper
Series
December 15-18, 2006:  Conference presentations

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
Nezar AlSayyad, Conference Director, University of California, Berkeley
Pimpan Vessakosol, Conference Local Director, Thammasat University, Thailand
Vimolsiddhi Horayangkura, Conference Local Deputy Director, Thammasat
University, Thailand
Stacey Murphy, IASTE Coordinator, University of California, Berkeley
Montira Horayangura, Local Conference Advisor, UNESCO, Thailand
Warinporn Yangyuenwong, Local Conference Coordinator, Thammasat University,
Thailand
Kathleen Kuhlmann, CEDR Conference Administrator, University of California,
Berkeley
Pornkes Tantisevi, Local Conference Administrator, Thailand

LOCAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Vimolsiddhi Horyangkura, Trungjai Buranasomphob, Yongtanit Pimonsathean,
Thavanan Tanesdechsunthorn, Jaturong Pokharatsiri, Maadi Tungpanich,
Rachadaporn Kanitpun

SESSIONS ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Hesham Abdelfattah, Nadia Alhasani, William Bechhoefer, Mark Gillem, Clara
Irazábal, Gareth Jones, Hasan-Uddin Khan, Anthony King, Duanfang Lu, Robert
Mugerauer, Marcela Pizzi, Gunawan Tjahjono, Dell Upton

CONFERENCE SPONSORS
Thammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand
College of Environmental Design, University of California, Berkeley

CONFERENCE SITE
The conference will be held at the Montien Riverside Hotel in Bangkok.  In
order to obtain special conference room rates at the hotel, reservations,
accompanied by full payment, will have to be made by September 15, 2006.
Hotel and travel arrangements should be made directly with the designated
travel agency.

OPTIONAL EXCURSIONS
A variety of one-day and two-day trips to nearby sites will be available to
conference participants for an additional fee.  Optional excursions will
include trips to Ratanakosin Island, the northern region of Chiang Mai, and
the island of Phuket.  Arrangements for these excursions can also be made
with the designated travel agency.

INQUIRIES
Please use the following information when making inquiries regarding the
conference.
IASTE 2006
Center for Environmental Design Research
390 Wurster Hall, #1839
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-1839, USA
Phone:  510.642.6801
Fax:  510.643.5571
E-mail:  iaste at berkeley.edu
Website:  www.arch.ced.berkeley.edu/research/iaste