Call for Papers – International Conference on 'Localities through Mobility.
Cultures of Motorway in Contemporary Europe'

Section of Contemporary Cultural Studies in the Department of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań (Poland) announces call for papers for international, interdisciplinary conference entitled 'Localities through Mobility. Cultures of Motorway in Contemporary Europe'. The conference will be held on 11-12 June 2014 in Poznań (Poland).

The main aim of the conference is to explore the multifaceted connections between locality understood as socio-cultural practice, grass roots economies and the present development of motorways.

We invite contributions from every relevant perspective and field (anthropology, sociology, geography, economics, geoinformatics, development planning ) that cover the following areas:

phenomenon of motorway as a specific cultural landscape;
cultural, economic and social aspects of modernization in the context of motorway;
construction of motorways as a production of new forms of enterprise and new way of facing the trauma of big changes;
culture of transport and logistics (flow, mobility; cultural landscapes; objects of/through movement);
anthropology of motorway (motorway and roadside spaces; different social actors and motorway; seasonal character of socio-economic practices connected to the road);
motorway as a factor of development;
cultural dimension of a suburban infrastructure (suburbanization, splintering urbanism; local/ suburb/provincial/rural economies and business; roadside and suburb aesthetics; motels, roadside trading, prostitution).


Proposals should be submitted by 13 April 2014. The conference language is English and all presentations should be in English. Proposals (maximum 500 words) along with a brief biographical statement (no more than 100 words) should be send to: ieiakconference@gmail.com

SUBMISSION FORM:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_X5uGDPMx3EWlB1R1JlNGI3aDA/edit?usp=sharing

Proposal submission deadline: April 13 , 2014

List of approved proposals: April 20, 2014

The conference language: English

Organizers will cover costs of accommodation during the conference (11/12 June 2014) and will provide conference materials and catering. Participation in the conference is free of charge. Organizers do not reimburse for any travel expenses or additional accommodation costs. All presentations will be audio-recorded and displayed on-line on Creative Commons BY-SA License.

Organizers: prof. dr hab. Waldemar Kuligowski, dr Agata Stanisz
Conference secretary: Aleksandra Reczuch

Conference website: www.facebook.com/motorwayconference

The conference is financed from the research grant 'Moving modernizations. Influence of motorway A2 on local cultural landscapes' funded by the Polish National Science Centere (OPUS Programme) .
Project website: http://ruchomemodernizacje.weebly.com/

Department of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology
Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań

św. Marcin 78
61-809 Poznań
Poland
tel. +48 61 829 4817
fax +48 61 829 4710
e-mail: ieiakconference@gmail.com