5th International Conference of Critical Geography
Mumbai, 3-7December 2007
Tata Institute of Social Sciences
Deadlines
Submission of abstracts/sessions: 30th June 2007.
Payments with reduced fee: 15th August 2007.
Between 1997 and 2005, four Critical Geography conferences have accomplished much toward elaborating and refining critical geographies by stimulating constructive debates, collaborative projects, and building connections among critical geographers and other scholars and activists worldwide (see the International Critical Geography Group web site, Following these highly successful events, we invite you to join us, the International Critical Geography Group,forthe Fifth International Conference of Critical Geography in Mumbai, India, 3-7 December 2007, at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences.
The purpose of the conference is to provide an informal forum for politically critical discussion and debate. We welcome all that are engaged in promoting a critical politics, especially those related to the main conference themes. The format of the conference will be varied and much more akin to workshops, rather than the sort of activities typical of academicmeetings. The objective, besides promoting the further development and diffusion of critical geographies, is to avoid a vertical transmission of knowledge and to ensure a more democratic debate and effective progress of ideas.
Conference theme: “Imperialism and resultant disorder: imperatives for social justice”
The primary and overarching theme of the conference will be about imperialism and social justice and their social (political-economic-cultural) and environmental (socio-ecological, physical) aspects. Representatives of political organisations, unions, and social movements will be invited to address these inter-related issues.
Some thematic sessions are already in the process of being organised. More information will be made available through the conference web site ( as more sessions are organised. Please contact the organiser directly if you would like to be included.
Valorising regions: modernisation and landusurpation
The session will focus on Special economic zones that have become a significantoption of the neo-liberal statein South Asia after China.
Contact:Swapna Banerjee-Guha,
Land and other resource struggles in globalising cities and countrysides
The land question; Global take-over of water supplies by the few; Struggles for control of the oceans and the question of over-fishing.
Contact: Blanca Ramirez,
Labour migration
Details will be forthcoming on the conference website.
Contact: Geraldine Pratt,
Environmental justice and imperialism
Major issues covered will include social justice in regions exploited for mineral and other resource, the impact of warfare, policing, and militarism on people’s health (including the imprisonment of people), the contribution of resource extraction regimes in different parts of the world to the uneven making of national states and capitalism. Historical examples are strongly encouraged that analyse strategies leadingto prevention or successes against environmental injustices.
Contact: Salvatore Engel-Di Mauro,
Besides the above, we welcome a wide range of themes approached through politically critical perspectives from activist, social movement, and academic contexts. The following is by far not an exhaustive list ofexamplesof what could be covered under the framework of imperialism and social justice:
- Forced vulnerabilityto premature death in rural and urban settings
- Migration, displacement; Sexual and gender dissidence; Urban expansion, rural transformations, rural-urban relations; Creation of precarious jobs; Housing conditions and quality of life
- Globalisation or imperialism?
- Supranational institutions and developing countries; National conflicts and the role of imperialist powers; Ideologies of exclusion and exceptionalism (dumping problems onto people living elsewhere); Militarisation and security ideologies
- Social movements: revolution or reform?
- Mobilisations against warfare; Political organising over migration and forced displacement; The efficacy of struggles for wealth redistribution; Global organising and effectiveness against global capitalist institutions; Social movements and the question of resource access
- Identity, community, solidarity
- National conflicts and the forging of identities and communities; Contemporary issues ofpolitics and religion; Islam and the gender question; Multiculturality, cultural belongings, nation and culture; The stereotyping of geographical regions and places and its repercussions; Strategies for cross-cultural solidarity
- Critical approachesand pedagogy
- New subjects and challenges; Imperialistic and technocraticscientific discourses; Participative and alternative science; Questioning the “success” of capitalism
Submitting abstracts, session descriptions
Deadline: 30th June 2007
Abstracts for paper/poster, performance, artwork
If you wish to present a paper (e.g., research results), a performance (e.g., poetry), or artwork (e.g., photography), please submit a one-page abstract or description of what you wish to present or issues you wish to raise. Make sure to include your name, affiliation and/or complete address, including e-mail, if applicable, the title of your presentation, and any special needs (e.g., translation service, specific technological media, wall space, chalkboard). Please note that we may not be able to meet all your requests and that, for the sake of fostering dialogue, we will not be able to accommodate more than five presenters per session.If your institution or organisation requires that you submit a full-length paper, please let us know so that we may be able to accommodate your request.
Session descriptions (posters, workshops, roundtable discussions, etc.)
If you wish to organise a session, please submit the following information: (1) a session title; (2) your name, affiliation, and complete address, including e-mail, as applicable; (3) a one-page abstract or description of what you wish to organise; (4) the names, affiliations, and contact information of all invited presenters along with titles and half-page abstracts or descriptions of all the presentations that will be featured in the session; (5) any special needs (e.g., translation service, specific technological media, wall space, chalkboard). Please note that we may not be able to meet all your requests and that, for the sake of fostering dialogue, we will not be able to accommodate more than five presenters per session.
Conference participation format
To foster informal dialogue, the conference sessions will be organised as open forums with a facilitator and translator, as needed.
Ten minute presentations
All presentations must be no longer than ten minutes, so as to give plenty of time for people to engage in the issues raised in the session. Make sure to focus only on the main point, questions, and/or findings you wish to convey to the other participants. Avoid any academic jargon or idiomatic expressions or slang; if this is unavoidable, ensure that all termsare fully defined and explained in the abstract itself as well as during the presentation. Using sketches and/or quoted text on a projected transparency or chalkboard will be helpful. All session participants will have the chance to read paper presentation abstracts or performance and artwork descriptions prior to or during the conference through the conference web site or the conference registration desk, when the conference commences.
Sessions
Sessions must be carried out in an informal way and any academic jargon or idiomatic expressions or slang, if introduced at all, must be fully clarified and explained to the other participants. As session organiser, you can elect to serve as facilitator or to seek someone else’s help in facilitating the session. This can be done either prior to or at the time of the session, whatever is most workable.
Please submit session and/or presentation abstracts/descriptions to the conference coordinator at the following address:
Swapna Banerjee-Guha
Professor of Development Studies, School of Social Sciences, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Post Box No.8313, Deonar, Mumbai 400 088, India
If you have problems posting materials through e-mail, please use the following contact address:
Salvatore Engel-Di Mauro
Department of Geography, SUNY New Paltz, 11 Hanmer House, 75 S. Manheim Blvd.
New Paltz, NY12561, USA
tel: 1/845/2572991, fax: 1/845/2572992
e-mail:
Fees (in US Dollars)
Deadline for reduced fee: 15th August 2007
Fees will cover the costs of registration and conference organising, some simultaneous translation sessions (especially for keynote speakers), inaugural and closing dinners, morning and afternoon teas and snacks, and conference materials. For those wishing to participate in planned field trips, there will be additional fees that will be specified in due course. Payment procedures, registration form, and other information will be posted to participants and will be available on the conference web page (
Fees paid by 15th August 2007
- Participants from Japan, Persian Gulf countries on the Arabian Peninsula, North America, excluding Mexico, andNorthern and Western Europe
Faculty210
Students90
- Participants from other countries
Faculty75
Students25
Fees paid by30th October 2007
- Participants from Japan, Persian Gulf countries on the Arabian Peninsula, North America, excluding Mexico, andNorthern and Western Europe
Faculty220
Students90
- Participants from other countries
Faculty85
Students25
Fees if paid at the conference
- Participants from Japan, Persian Gulf countries on the Arabian Peninsula, North America, excluding Mexico, andNorthern and Western Europe
Faculty230
Students90
- Participants from other countries
Faculty95
Students25
Fees for those observing, not officially participating(No conference kit included)
- Participants from Japan, Persian Gulf countries on the Arabian Peninsula, North America, excluding Mexico, andNorthern and Western Europe
Faculty80
Students30
- Participants from other countries
Faculty50
Students20
We request colleagues to confirm their participation and complete the payment requirements by 30th October, 2007. This will help make the organisation of the conference more effective.
Conference venue andaccommodations
The conference is hosted by Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in Mumbai. Lodging information will be provided on the website for nearby hotels. TISS does not have hotels in the immediate vicinity. Time distance by taxi, bus or auto-rickshaw from the conference venue to each hotel will be described on the hotel list. Hotel bookings must be made by the participants. December being a tourist month in Mumbai, participants are advised to reserve lodging well in advance. It will not be possible for the organisers to guarantee any accommodation.
Less expensive lodging options for students and other qualified participants
A few rooms may be made availablein the TISS hostel,details of whichwill be included on the conference websiteonce finalised. Such rooms will only be available for students generally and forparticipants from countries other than some of the OECD, as defined in the above fees listing.Cheaper accommodations may also be available for the same qualified participants at MumbaiUniversityor at local research institutes, but only for those registering by 15th August, 2007, and explicitly requesting to be considered for such alternative lodging.
Meals
Asmeals will not be included as part of registration costs, we will provide a wide range of options near the hotels and the conference venue. A list of eating places with a map will be provided in the conference kit. More information will also be available on the conference web site,
Conference schedule
Registration for the conference will start on 3rd December, 2007 at 11 a.m. and close at5 p.m. The inaugural keynote address will be followed by a Welcome dinner. Sessions will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on 4th to 6th December. Day long field trips from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with four options, will be organised for 7th December, followed by a closing dinner in the evening. We will try to organise cultural events every evening after the sessions.