Place, Space, Emergence (Utah, USA)

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

 

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@english.usu.edu