Call for graduate student participants

Departments of Geography, Syracuse University and Penn State

November 6–8, 2015

Hosted by the Department of Geography, Penn State

The faculty of the geography departments of Syracuse University and Penn State University are committed to supporting young scholars in critical studies of justice. In this context, organizers ask participants to engage in cross-departmental conversations about the nature of geographic justice.

We welcome “works in progress” from graduate students that speak to the theme of circuits of justice or related subjects including, but not limited to: activism and public protest; organizing and resistance; gender, race, and intersectional analytics; work and labor; precarity; incarceration; urban (in)justice; environmental (in)justice; subalternism and recognition; emotion and affect; informal, restorative and transitional justice; human rights; and methodologies inherent to these inquiries.

Please submit a 250 word abstract that includes a title for the paper, name, email address and phone number to Azita Ranjbar, ranjbar@psu.edu, and Kelsey Carlson, kcarlson@syr.edu by Monday, September 21. Full papers (10 pages, double spaced) from workshop participants will be due by Friday, October 23. Each paper will be assigned to a graduate student from the other department for discussion at the time of presentation. Presentations at the workshop will be organized according to theme and will be limited to 10 minutes, as the focus of the workshop is on discussion and feedback versus presenting a polished conference paper.

The workshop will feature a public address by Dr. Amy Ross, Associate Professor of Geography at the University of Georgia.  Dr. Ross is a leading scholar in what she describes as the study of human rights and wrongs. Her research engages with matters related to international justice including genocide, transitional justice, and the spatiality of violence. The conference will also feature a plenary panel of faculty and graduate students entitled “Circuits of Justice Engaged”.

Participation in this workshop is limited to geography graduate students at Penn State and Syracuse University. Transportation to and from Penn State will be arranged by home departments. Graduate students from Syracuse University will be hosted by Penn State graduate students, and meals will be provided throughout the workshop. For additional information, please contact Azita Ranjbar at ranjbar@psu.edu.