An Afternoon of Thoughts on the (Im)Possibilities of Engaged Urban Sociology/Photography/Art
Seminar: Richard Hoggart Building, RHB 274, Goldsmiths, Tue, 03 Feb 2009 15:00:00 GMTThe Borderlands Seminar visiting Goldsmiths
An afternoon of thoughts on the (im)possibilites of engaged urban sociology/photography/art
3-4pm Presentation: Intervention or the need for a new cultural critique?
Catharina Thörn (PhD), coordinator of the Borderlands Seminar at Centre for Cultural Studies, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
What role do urban researchers and artists play in the process of urban regeneration? Are we accomplices or critics of power? The Dutch research group BAVO provocatively argue that researchers and artists here are equivalent to embedded journalists in the coalition army or the Human Terrain Teams in Afghanistan and Iraq. Drawing from her experiences of being a part of ‘Dialogue Södra Älvstranden’ – a large-scale participatory planning experiment in which six crews of architects, cultural workers, artists, researchers and ordinary citizens was given the task to come up with ideas for the development of the southern side of the river that runs through Gothenburg – Catharina Thörn discusses what role urban researchers and artists play in the process of city transformation.
4-4.30 pm Coffee and tea
4.30-6pm Panel: What role does and can urban researchers, artists and photographers play in regeneration processes?
We have asked five people to reflect on this question in relation to projects that they have been or are engaged in. After this introduction everyone is welcome to join the discussion.
Panel:
Ben Gidley, CUCR, Goldsmiths
Hannah Jones, Department of Sociology, Goldsmiths,
Alison Rooke, CUCR, Goldsmiths
Aida Sánchez de Serdio Martin, Department of Fine Arts,
University of Barcelona (visiting researcher at CUCR)
Artist from the Serpentine project
Warmly welcome everyone!
Helena Holgersson (visiting Phd student at CUCR from the University of Gothenburg)
For more information: helena.holgersson@sociology.gu.se
Borderlands is a series of seminars organized by the Department for Culture, Aesthetics and Media at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. In a society where the significance of aesthetics in communication, advertising and politics is increasing there is a need to discuss how social critique (social science research) relates to aesthetic critique (artistic interventions). The purpose of these seminars is to do just that, focusing on theory as well as methodology.
For more information on this seminar please email Helena Holgersson, helena.holgersson@sociology.gu.se.
Download the programme as a PDF.