INTERDISCIPLINARY WORKSHOP: ‘The Politics of Popular Culture: life
beyond the theory/practice divide’ University of Lapland, Pyhätunturi,
26-27 November 2011
Registration deadline: 30th August 2011
This two-day interdisciplinary workshop will take place in
the wake of the Popular Culture and World Politics 4 conference
(University of Lapland, Finland, 23-25 November 2011
www.ulapland.fi/pcwp4).
The aim of the workshop is to dissolve conceptual relations
between theories and practices of popular culture. The relation between
theory and practice has traditionally been posed in the form of a
question. It is often asked how culture is entangled with political
thought and practice. How might political and cultural theory inform
political and cultural practice, and vice versa? Should these two realms
be considered separate? In contrast this workshop starts from the
assumption that there is no mediation between theory and practice. In
theorizing popular culture we are concerned with new ways of
conceptualising the 'popular', or ‘the common’ that determines the
content of a people whose very production is at stake in the theory and
practice of popular culture. Because the contestation and articulation
of the common is the very practice of politics, so the theory/practice
of popular culture is quite simply, “people-production”.
This founding assumption has implications for the ways in
which we might think about the political potential of theory. It also
dissolves traditional divisions of labour between social scientists,
artists and cultural producers. We hope to solicit papers and
presentations that explore the politics of popular culture through a
variety of modes of expression – academic, artistic and anything
in-between. The format of the presentation is entirely free. Although
the focus of the workshop is on the politics of popular culture, one of
our key aims is to explore the creative potential of our own work, and
to find and explore new ways of expression and collaboration across the
arts and sciences.
PROGRAMME
The academic programme consists of talks by three cutting
edge scholars whose work engages the theory/practice axis in politics
and cultural studies, as well as presentations by workshop participants
(for instance academic papers, video, photography, performance). These
presentations will be followed by general discussion and comments from
the keynoters and course organizers.
On the first day we will focus on contemporary debates on
the relationship between new political movements and cultural theory
with a particular focus on dance music and radical consumption (Lectures
by Jeremy Gilbert and Jo Littler). This theme will be followed on the
second day by more general discussions of the politics of arts and
popular culture (lecture by Geoffrey Whitehall) and of the multiple and
mobile roles and positions that we as academics, artists and cultural
producers might assume in this context.
ADMISSION
The maximum number of students for this workshop is 12.
In addition to postgraduate research students from Politics and IR we
encourage participation from the full range of other fields, including
the arts, philosophy and culture.
To register for this workshop, please send a short
description (max. 300 words) of yourself and of your possible
contribution to the workshop organizers Laura Junka-Aikio
(laura.junka-aikio@ulapland.fi) and Professor Julian Reid
(julian.reid@ulapland.fi). The deadline for the workshop registration is
August 31st, 2011. Submission deadline for the actual papers (if your presentation includes one) is November 11th,.2011.
WORKSHOP VENUE
The workshop takes place in a large log house (Hakakero
cottage) in Pyhätunturi fell resort (http://www.pyha.fi/english/). In
addition to providing a relaxed space for the academic programme, this
venue will serve as accommodation, and there will also be a small party
on Saturday evening. The aim is to encourage a friendly, relaxed and
inspiring atmosphere and to make sure that all participants (including
the organizers and the invited lecturers) have a chance to get to know
one another. The collective nature of the workshop will encourage the
formation of new research and collaborations.
COST
The workshop is free but we expect all participants to
contribute 40 euros for accommodation and to cover their own meals and
travel costs to Pyhätunturi. Invited lecturers and lecture topics:
1) Dr. Jeremy Gilbert (Reader in Cultural Studies School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of East London, U.K.).
Lecture title: Dance Music, Culture and the Politics of Sound
Jeremy is the author of Anticapitalism and Culture: Popular
Politics and Radical Theory (2008, Berg) and the co-author of
Discographies: Dance Music, Culture and the Politics of Sound and
Cultural Capitalism: Politics After New Labour. He is also one of the
keynote speakers for the Popular Culture and World Politics IV
conference. Jeremy’s personal website can be found at
http://www.uel.ac.uk/hss/staff/jeremy-gilbert/index.htm
2) Dr. Jo Littler (Senior Lecturer in Media and Cultural Studies, School of Arts and Education, University of Middlesex, UK).
Lecture title: Radical Consumption: shopping for change in contemporary culture
Joe is the author of Radical Consumption: Shopping for
Change in Contemporary Culture (Open University Press, 2009) and
co-editor of The Politics of Heritage: The Legacies of ‘Race’ (Routledge
, 2005, with Roshi Naidoo). Jo’s personal website can be found at:
http://www.mdx.ac.uk/aboutus/staffdirectory/Jo_Littler.aspx
3) Dr. Geoffrey Whitehall (Associate Professor, Department of Politics. Acadia University, Canada).
Lecture title: TBC
Geoffrey is the author of numerous articles on the
aesthetics of international politics and on the politics of popular
culture, including ‘Musical Modulations of Political Thought: Amplifying
difference beyond the grammar of sovereignty’ in Theory and Event Vol 9
no. 2, 2006 and ‘The Aesthetic Emergence of the Avian Flu effect’ in
Debrix & Lacy eds. Geopolitics of American Insecurity: Terror, Power
and Foreign Policy (Routledge, 2009). Geoffrey’s personal website is
at: http://polisci.acadiau.ca/geoffrey-whitehall.html
The workshop is funded and organised by:
-University of Lapland, department of Politics and International Relations
-POLITU Graduate School in Political Studies (http://www.uta.fi/laitokset/politiikka/politu/english/index.php)
-Academy of Finland research project 'The Biopolitics of Development' (Prof. Julian Reid, University of Lapland)