Appel à communications : Global Cultures of Contestation International Conference, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam (Pays-Bas), 15-16/10/2015 — LIMITE : 01/06/2015

Organised by the Amsterdam Centre for Globalisation Studies

Keynote Speakers: 

– Paul Gilroy (King’s College London)
– Zeynep Tufekci (TBC) (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
– Robin Celikates & Thomas Poell (University of Amsterdam)

From the popular uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa in early 2011, via the Spanish indignados, the Occupy movement and the Gezi Park protests, to the Umbrella movement in Hong Kong and the New University/Rethink UvA in Amsterdam, over the past years different parts of the world have seen major forms of popular contestation. This conference organised by the Amsterdam Centre for Globalisation Studies  examines this global wave of protest, characterised by the occupation of squares, streets and buildings a diversity of tactics prominently involving online communication and emerging new political imaginaries. Particularly striking is that these protests have not been initiated or directed by traditional social movement organisations, but appear to be spontaneous political movements ‘from below.’ Yet, while these instances of popular contestation have been celebrated for their mobilisations, their creativity and their innovative use of social media, their long-term efficacy has been called into question. So far, this debate has primarily focused on the political and social consequences of the protests. For this conference, we would like to invite scholars from around the globe to expand the debate by critically reflecting on the cultural dimensions of contemporary forms of popular contestation.

We are especially interested in research that examines emerging global cultures of contestation from one of the following perspectives (following the four research programs at the ACGS; see here)

– Reflecting on questions of mobility : how the protests challenge and transform cultural boundaries, as well as established understandings of security, belonging and home? And what form of mobility is implied in the global spread of these protests?
– How are issues of  sustainability  addressed? In what ways are the
precarity of labor, ecological degradation and the preservation of objects of cultural and historical value put on the agenda? And to what extent are the protests themselves sustainable as effective forms of contestation?
– What are the  aesthetics of contemporary protest movements? In this context, we welcome explorations of the global circulation and
proliferation of new imaginaries (including their linguistic, visual and
acoustic manifestations), as well as of how these new imaginaries challenge and/or reproduce dominant cultural regimes.
– What are the connective  platforms that facilitate and structure
today’s protest communication and mobilisation? How do these platforms not only enable contestation, but also shape its focus and dynamics?

Please send an abstract (200-300 words) and short bio (max. 100 words) by 1 June 2015  to  acgs-fgw@uva.nl

In your abstract, indicate for which of the four streams—mobility,
sustainability, aesthetics or connectivity—you would like to be considered.

Notice of acceptance will be given by 1 July 2015.