Call For Papers: Interdisciplinary Conference, Duke (January 2010)

Call for Papers

Taking Up Space: An Interdisciplinary Conference

Hosted by Duke History Graduate Students with Support from the Sociology Department, Latino/a Studies, and the Women's Studies Program January 29, 2010 (Abstract Submissions due November 1, 2009)

A central feature of Western scientific thought originated by René Descartes and elaborated further by physicists and mathematicians has been a notion of space as a container within which objects exist and actions take place. Despite the widespread acceptance of all-encompassing mathematical and physical space as part of our inherited common sense, scholars have increasingly questioned its relevance for the spaces of human activity. They have explored other spaces, including literary space, social space, mental space, the space of the body, racialized and gendered spaces, cities, regions, oceans and the globe. They have drawn attention to the production of spaces, the power relations imbued within them, and various ways in which space can be productive, prohibitive or instrumental for human actors. There has also been renewed attention to scholarly spatial methodology regarding scale and the appropriate distance between the research and the researched.

We invite scholars across disciplines to submit papers for a one-day conference during which we will place into dialogue a wide variety of approaches to questions of space and consider their application to historical inquiry. We specifically encourage with works in progress or at an early stage in their research, including pre-dissertation graduate students, to apply. Drawing on diverse traditions, we hope to explore how to understand the production and productive capacity of sites, locations, scales, and geographies.

Submissions to the conference could address, but are by no means limited to, the following topics:

     o The production and erosion of particular spaces.

     o Lived spaces and hegemonic spaces.

     o Landscapes and their meanings.

     o The spatial constitution of identities, politics and knowledges.

     o Relations between Mathematical, physical, mental and social space.

     o Capitalist structures, creative destruction and alternative or oppositional 
       economic spaces.

     o Money, capital and the trend toward eliminating spatial differentiation.

     o Fixed investments in space.

     o Modern, premodern and postmodern spaces.

     o Mobility, territory, nationalism and community.

     o Geographic scales, social topography, cartography and globalization.

     o Ideologies of space.

     o Racial, class and gender power relations embodied in landscape.

     o Social movements and public space.

     o Environmental histories of natural and built environments and ecosystems.

     o Uneven development and disruptions of historical periodizations.

     o The history of science and technology.

     o Scholarly distancing and other spatial methodologies.

The conference will consist of panels organized around specific questions with a commenter. Please submit an abstract of no more than 350 words by November 1, 2009, to Patrick McElwee at pmm21@duke.edu. Those selected will be notified
by November 15, 2009. The conference will take place at Duke University on Friday, January 29, 2010.

Patrick McElwee
Duke University
Department of History
http://fds.duke.edu/db/aas/history/grad/specialty.html

Ph.D. Application Workshop Tonight: 10/9

Ph.D. Application Workshop
Led by Professors Mrinalini Rajagopalan and Nina Hien

Friday, October 9th 5-7 PM
Draper Map Room

This workshop is a mini-orientation session geared towards students who are either considering a Ph.D. or those who are already in the early stages of the application process. It is also relevant to students who are interested in general information regarding doctoral degrees and those who need some guidance as to what they should be prepared for in terms of the application process. Some general issues that will be tackled are:

• How do I know if a PhD is right for me?
• Setting realistic expectations of the PhD process and future career trajectories.
• Choosing a department as well as a university that is a good fit for me. -What to expect in terms of the contents and deadlines for a PhD application.
• Using Draper as a resource for making decisions about a PhD and a career in academia.

We encourage all Draper students who are interested in future doctoral studies and have questions regarding the same to attend this workshop.

Draper Alumnus Non-Profit: Organization for Visual Progression Event, Tonight: 10/8

When Ben Foley graduated from Draper in 2008, he and a colleague began a Nonprofit called the Organization for Visual Progression (OVP), which is "dedicated to providing social justice organizations with opportunities to create and utilize visual media in their advocacy efforts." Though OVP is still only composed of its two founding members, they've been able to accomplish a lot over the last year: conducted video advocacy training in the Southern Philippines, collaborated with a Filipino NGO to produce a video documenting labor violations, and worked with a nonprofit law firm in NYC to produce an instructional DVD for people leaving prison to help them overcome employment discrimination against people with criminal records.

Tonight, OVP is hosting their first "friend-raiser/fund raiser" at the BRIC Rotunda Gallery in Brooklyn Heights. More information is below:

(also see interactive info on the OVP site)

Thursday, October 8th from 7 to 10pm

BRIC Rotunda Gallery in Brooklyn Heights

33 Clinton Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201

(718) 875-4047 (map).

We are presenting some of our latest video projects; there will be a private viewing of “Status Report,” an exhibition of contemporary artists that highlight Mexican immigration, the border, and labor rights injustice, music mixed by Ben Tausig, and … free wine!

Publication: Former Global Histories Faculty Fellow, Anupama Rao

Anupama Rao, a previous Draper faculty fellow in Global Histories, has published a new book. The Caste Question: Dalits and the Politics of Modern India (University of California Press) combines anthropology and history in a study of how India's Dalits (once known as untouchables) worked to overcome their stigmatization.

Call for papers - Sixth Annual Graduate Student History Conference at NC State

CALL FOR PAPERS:

Sixth Annual Graduate Student History Conference
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Riddick Hall, on the North Carolina State University campus in Raleigh, NC

The NC State History Graduate Student Association welcomes proposals
from graduate students for individual papers on any historical topic,
including public history, and any time period. Presentations will last
approximately fifteen minutes each, and each panel will be followed by
comments from area faculty, as well as a general discussion. Selected
papers will be published electronically in a conference proceedings.

If interested, please submit a 250-word proposal and a current CV.
Email submissions are preferred. Please send an email to
hgsaconference@gmail.com with your name, institution, and field of
specialization, and with the proposal and CV attached. Email submissions
are preferred.

Hard copy submissions may be sent to:

   North Carolina Graduate Student History Conference
   Dept. of History, Box 8108
   North Carolina State University
   Raleigh, NC 27695-8108

All proposals must be received by November 30, 2009.

Lunch will be provided for attendees that have preregistered at the
Conference website.

For more information, visit
http://history.chass.ncsu.edu/graduate/hgsa/conference.php, or send an
email to hgsaconference@gmail.com.

Best,
Laura Hepp Bradshaw
North Carolina State University Graduate Student Association Co-President

Master's College Seminars- Master the Road Ahead

A link to all the information in this message is here:

http://gsas.nyu.edu/object/ots_10062009_masterscollege.html]


The Master's College announces the Master's Seminars- Master the Road Ahead.

Master's Seminars- Master the Road Ahead
Spend Tuesdays this Fall with the Master's College honing your skills for success in graduate school.  This series features topics of particular interest to graduate students aiming for excellence in scholarship and beyond.  Taught by experts in the field, topics include research techniques, grant writing and review; resume building and interviewing skills and more. To register for one or more of these workshops send an email to gsas.masterscollege.rsvp@nyu.edu.  Light refreshments will be served.

Register today for:

Research Techniques with Scott Collard of Bobst Library
Tuesday October 13
4:30 - 6:00 p.m.

Resume Writing and Interview Skill Building with Erin Chamlee of the Wasserman Center for Career Development
Sponsored by the Wasserman Center for Career Development
Tuesday, October 20
4:30 - 6:00 p.m.

Grant Writing and Grant Review with Adam Kirkman and Bonnie Sultan
Tuesday, October 27
4:30 - 6:00 p.m.

Civic Engagement in New York City - Getting involved and Giving Back
Tuesday, November 10
4:30 - 6:00 p.m.

Master's College Program Board
Do you want to take an active role in shaping the types of events and programs offered by the GSAS Master's College?  The Master's College is
looking for Master's Students to form a program board to do just that.  If you'd like to become involved send an email to gsas.masterscollege@nyu.edu.


The Wasserman Center is offering these great events this fall:

Resumes for Master's Students
Learn to write an effective resume that will accurately reflect your skills and abilities
. Thursday October 8, 5:30 - 6:30 p.m.
. Tuesday, November 17, 12:30 - 1:30 p.m.
Wasserman Center 113 East 13th Street Presentation Room B

CV's for Academic Jobs
Find out how to write a CV that will impress academic employers
.Wednesday, October 21, 3:00 - 4:00 p.m.
. Friday, November 13, 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.
Wasserman Center 113 East 13th Street Presentation Room B

Take advantage of this Bobst offering too!
Bobst  Graduate Student-focused workshops, where you can learn everything from how to organize your bibliographies, to how to track down those tricky citations, to how to be a more effective research assistant (and much more). For the complete listing of these sessions, and to sign up, go to: http://library.nyu.edu/grads

Office of the Master's College
David Giovanella, Director
Suzanne Sultan, Administrative Aide
(212) 992-7960

Dean's Student Travel Grant Program

Those of you interested in participating in conferences or professional meetings this year should be aware of the Dean's Student Travel Grant Program. The Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Science (GSAS) provides funds to graduate students in the humanities, social sciences and sciences for travel to professional meetings and conferences to present invited papers or posters. The Dean's Student Travel Grant Program provides a total of 225 awards each year, in the amount of $500 each, to help students defray the cost of presenting their scholarly work. The grant may be used for travel, lodging, and related expenses.

The program is fully described on the GSAS web site at http://gsas.nyu.edu/page/grad.travelgrant. Awards are made through a two-tier lottery process during three award periods. Applications for Period 1 are being accepted from this Wednesday, October 8, through October 23.

State of Crisis conference at Brandeis (with Draper student presentation)

Dear students,

You have a fellow Draper student presenting at this conference! Alana Smith will be presenting her paper "This is Our Emergency: Creatures of the Night Are Calling -- Political Wolf-Men from Homo Sacer to the Caves of al-Qaida" at 1:30pm in the Shapiro Campus Center Art Gallery. If you would like to attend, follow the website link for more information.

Best,
Georgia

-----

Dear colleagues and friends,

The Department of English and American Literature at Brandeis University invites you to attend its Seventh Annual Graduate Conference, “States of Crisis,” on Friday, October 9th, 2009.  This year's conference seeks to define more clearly the term "crisis" and to work through some of the ramifications of its application, exploring different responses to the idea of crisis in the humanities and social sciences.  Our plenary talks will be given by Ed Glaeser (Department of Economics, Harvard University) and David Sherman (Department of English and American Literature, Brandeis University).

Please mark your calendars, and please register by October 2nd to ensure your place for lunch.  If you do not wish to partake in the lunch, admission is free.  For more information about the conference, including a schedule of panelists and plenary talks, and to register, please visit our website at http://statesofcrisis.wikidot.com/.

General questions about the conference should be sent to statesofcrisis[at]brandeis.edu.

Best wishes,

Daniel Donatacci
Media and Publicity Director, States of Crisis Conference
Department of English and American Literature 
Brandeis University

DSO Colloquium on Silence - call for papers

Calling all Draper students,

We are looking for papers, projects and presentations for this fall's DSO Colloquium on SILENCE.

All aspects and interpretations of the topic are welcome. Your paper could address such things as:
-actual silence, as captured by technology
-representations of silence in art or literature
-the function of silence within a text
-silence as a political stance
-silencing as a form of repression
-the practices brought about by another's silence: speaking one someone's behalf, ventriloquism
-silence and its 'opposites': speech/sound/noise

This colloquium is limited to Draper students and provides an excellent opportunity to speak about a project you are working on and get input and ideas from your fellow students. Presentations will be 15-20 minutes long and do not have to be based on a completed project. Often a paper that is still in progress will yield a more fruitful discussion. That said, completed projects are very welcome as well.

For those interested in helping out with the selection committee, organizing the colloquium, or moderating please email Christine Woody at cmw413@nyu.edu.

The DSO Colloquium on SILENCE will take place Friday, December 11th at 6:30pm in the Draper Map Room.

Proposals (200 words) are due by 7 November to cmw413@nyu.edu. Please contact Christine with any questions.