Call for Papers for the following conference, Self, Other & Elsewhere: Images & Imagination in the Port Cities of Atlantic & Mediterranean Europe, held in Bordeaux 11th – 12th May.
In these times when urban marketing is being applied to outline the identity of our cities with a view to promoting it more effectively, this international seminar proposes to reflect upon the representation systems of European port cities on the Atlantic and the Mediterranean from the 18th century through to the present day. The relationship between city and port – we will be addressing only sea ports here – is far from simple, depending on the types of activities (trade, industry, military, tourism, etc.) and from one period in time to another, with the relationships urban societies have with their port spaces and activities varying in intensity and in nature, especially as the long period of time considered here spans the phases of the development of maritime activity, its decline and, more recently, urban restructuring. In this respect, quaysides form the line along which city and port meet, and provide the most tangible illustration of these transformations. Over the years, how have urban societies represented their ports and the opening onto the world they provide? We intend to examine both material representations (Darstellung) and mental representations (Vorstellung), to reflect on images, symbols and the imagination. This study will encompass a variety of sources, taking account of developments in technical media: artistic and literary works, sources from political, administrative and economic authorities, oral and written sources, photography, radio, cinema, television and digital sources…
For further details please click Appel à communication Images et imaginaires des ports (English Translation towards the bottom)
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