Politics and Knowledge 2010
19 January, 2010
School of Politics and International Relations
University of Nottingham
Politics and Knowledge 2010 is a modular workshop organised by postgraduate research students in the School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Nottingham. Workshops will be organised with the support of the School’s Research Centres. These will run concurrently and are designed to interrogate the relationship between politics and knowledge in different contexts and from a variety of methodological perspectives.
Papers are welcomed from across the social sciences. We would especially welcome applications from postgraduate students and early career researchers. Works in progress are welcome.
Politics and Knowledge 2010 is a free event and lunch will be provide. Registration is required, details will be published shortly.
Centre for British Politics (CBP)
The post-war era has been punctuated by regular announcements of the ‘death’ of ideology... [more information]
Centre for International Crisis Management and Conflict Resolution (ICMCR)
The Millennium Development Goals and the increasing importance of Africa as a global resource supplier have raised the ‘African Agenda’ on the stage of world politics ... [more information]
Centre for the Study of Social and Global Justice (CSSGJ)
We are inviting papers that engage with the concept of emancipation, in theory and/or practice, and explicitly address who does it, how they do it and what it means... [more information]
Centre for British Politics
The post-war era has been punctuated by regular announcements of the ‘death’ of ideology. At the beginning of the 1960s Daniel Bell announced The End of Ideology, arguing that the grand ideologies of the past were ‘exhausted’ and had become irrelevant among ‘sensible’ people; in 1992 Francis Fukuyama argued that the end of the Cold War represented ‘the end-point of mankind’s ideological evolution’; and more recently leading British politicians have distanced themselves from the concept, with Tony Blair stating that he was ‘beyond’ ‘dead’ ideology, and David Cameron claiming that he ‘doesn’t do -isms’.
These reports of ideology’s decline or demise have, however, been greatly exaggerated. Although the grand ideological battles that dominated the twentieth century remain, for the moment, a thing of the past, ideologies continue to exert a considerable influence over our political life in a variety of new more complex and more varied forms.
The workshop aims to draw together researchers from across a variety of different disciplines to explore the nature of ideology, and its historical and contemporary manifestations. Papers are invited on all aspects of the study of ideology, including:
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Theories of ideology;
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Ideology and policymaking;
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Ideological innovation and conceptual change;
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‘Green’ political thought;
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The Far Right;
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The Third Way(s);
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Economic liberalism.
Papers are welcomed from across the social sciences. We would especially welcome applications from postgraduate students and early career researchers. Works in progress are welcome and we hope to create an environment in which our work can be discussed in a friendly, constructive manner. Those interested in presenting a paper should submit an abstract of 200-300 words to Politics PGR by 30 November 2009.
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Centre for International Crisis Management and Conflict Resolution (ICMCR)
The Millennium Development Goals and the increasing importance of Africa as a global resource supplier have raised the ‘African Agenda’ on the stage of world politics, but it is yet to be seen whether these changes will bring prosperity and development to African populations. This workshop seeks to address the issues surrounding contemporary African issues, as well as discussing how academic knowledge can be used to develop debates and further action on the issues discussed.
Papers are invited on (but not limited to) the following themes:
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‘Africa’s Security’: conflict, peace building, military operations, terrorism, ethnicity and regionalism in Africa;
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‘Africa’s Stability’: corruption, democracy, social capital, environmental livelihood, institutionalism, governance, state-building, civil society, mobility and the role of media;
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‘Africa’s Development’: poverty, economic development, aids, the role of international organisations, religion and NGOs and natural resource wealth
Panels are expected to consist of four papers with a chair and a discussant.
Papers are welcomed from across the social sciences. We would especially welcome applications from postgraduate students and early career researchers. Those interested in presenting a paper should submit an abstract of 200-300 words to Politics PGR by 30 November 2009.
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Centre for the Study of Social and Global Justice (CSSGJ)
We are inviting papers that engage with the concept of emancipation, in theory and/or practice, and explicitly address who does it, how they do it and what it means. Suggested paper topics include (but are not limited to):
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Emancipation and social justice
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Emancipation and knowledge production; popular education; critical pedagogies; knowledge production in the academy; methodology and emancipation.
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Resistance and emancipation; emancipatory moments in politicized and depoliticized cultures.
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Emancipatory practices; alternative communities and collectivities; social movements.
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The role of theory in emancipation; relationships between theory, praxis and knowledge.
It is hoped that the collective focus on a single theme – emancipation – will draw out the implications of our differing approaches to knowledge and research and allow for in-depth discussions of the theme. We are seeking to open up a discussion based around the issues and problems thrown up by research, and would therefore invite speakers to consider the questions:
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In what theoretical perspective is your research grounded?
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What purpose does this serve?
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How does this affect how you frame your research problem, and your methodology?
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What conclusions does this suggest about the dynamics of power and resistance?
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What does it mean for the subjects of your research and the location and nature of agency?
The workshop is designed to encourage a cross-disciplinary exchange of ideas, reflexive thinking on one’s own research, and encourage the idea of knowledge production as a social rather than individual endeavour. To that end, we will be utilising critical pedagogical methods for our workshop, including some developed by Open Spaces for Dialogue and Enquiry . If you would like to know more about the methodology, please email Politics PGR.
Papers are welcomed from across the social sciences. We would especially welcome applications from postgraduate students and early career researchers. Those interested in presenting a paper should submit an abstract of 200-300 words to Politics PGR by 30 November 2009.
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