Into the Black Box (Collective Research on Logistics, Spaces and Labor) and The Academy of Global Humanities and Critical Theory, in collaboration with the Seminar on Borders, Migrations and Subjectivities in Contemporary Capitalism of the ICSyH-AVP at the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, call for the Workshop “Experiencing the City: Critical Theories and Visual Methods”, to be held in the City of Puebla from August 24 to 26, 2022.
Description:
“Experiencing the City” is a theoretical-practical discussion workshop that will take place in Puebla, Mexico, from August 24-26, 2022 where different perspectives on the contemporary urban phenomenon will converge. Critical theories on the city will meet the experiences of European and Latin American case studies to encourage a multidisciplinary and not exclusively Western participation.
Contents:
The city has been increasingly consolidated as one of the main geographical scales of our present. Both as a spatial and social entity, cities are the result of the superimposition and interaction of norms, flows, infrastructures and subjects. It is in urban spaces that forms of circulation and forms of production develop and intertwine, and it is always here that the great operations of capital are territorialized. Today, the process of urbanization seems to have acquired a planetary dimension. Digital technologies allow immediate connectivity between physically distant spaces, as well as the computerization of all aspects of our lives. The contemporary city, therefore, is expanding thanks to the Internet of Things, the cloud and smartphones, and encompasses a new dimension: the digital one. It is an augmented city in which the dynamics of production are closely interlocked with those of extraction. The pandemic has only accelerated this process of expansion of platform capitalism in urban spaces. However, cities are not limited to hosting flows and infrastructures. Different subjects coexist and come into conflict in them. It is above all non-hegemonic subjectivities –migrants and transfeminists– that very often question the urban regime of norms and interests.
Methodology:
Each day will be marked by a specific perspective on the city. The first encounter will focus on the genealogy of the contemporary city, its planetary dimension and its role within the global dynamics of capitalism. The second encounter will examine the process of digitisation of urban spaces, between utopia, processes of exploitation and new forms of social organization from below. Finally, the third day will be devoted to non-hegemonic subjectivities –in particular, migrants, feminists and transfeminists– and how they contest the symbolic and material order of the city.
In the morning, two introductory papers will open the proceedings by presenting the main conceptual issues of the day’s argument, while in the afternoon several case studies on the subject will be presented, with special attention to the methodology and visual dimension of the research. The use of audio and video materials, as well as artistic or not strictly academic languages, is expected.
Applications:
Participation is limited to a maximum of 20 individuals and is open to researchers, activists, doctoral candidates and students. Each candidate can apply by submitting a curriculum vitae and an intervention proposal (maximum 3,000 characters) specifying the case study he/she/they intends to present and how it fits into one of the three perspectives mentioned above:
- Genealogy of the contemporary city
- Digitisation of urban spaces
- Non-hegemonic subjectivities and the symbolic-material order of the city
Participants can also apply for one of the 5 available grants (room and board) for the three-day workshop.
Application link: https://forms.gle/5XkdPn1Ku38HCN1o6
Deadline for applications: July 14, 2022
Results communication: July 20, 2022
Organizing Committee:
Ada Cabrera (BUAP)
Blanca Cordero Díaz (BUAP)
Inés Molina Agudo (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid)
Maurilio Pirone (Universidad de Bolonia)
More info on contents, agenda and logistics:
http://www.intotheblackbox.com/events/convocatoria-experimentar-la-ciudad
Contact: experiencingthecity2022@gmail.com
