Discursive Spaces. Politics, Practices and Power

Cardiff (Wales)
Interpretive approaches are experiencing renewed interest and revitalisation in the social sciences quitebroadly. Their sensitivity to social meaning, historical context, and the importance of human subjectivityhas increasingly challenged the empiricist, positivist and scientist mainstream that has been dominantin recent decades. In policy analysis, these characteristics often link interpretive methods to criticalapproaches which place policy research in its relevant political and historical contexts. This 6th Conference(following the successful Birmingham, Amsterdam, Essex, Kassel and Grenoble conferences)investigates links of the interpretive tradition to new topics, venues and methodological challenges.

Keynote 1: Interpretive Policy Analysis in PracticePresenter: Maarten Hajer, University of Amsterdam and Environmental Assessment Agency (NL)Respondent: Patsy Healy, Newcastle University (UK)
Keynote 2: Deliberative Democracy and the Politics of SustainabilityPresenter: James Meadowcroft, Carleton University (CAN)Respondent: Frank Fischer, Rutgers University (USA) & University of Kassel (Germany)
Keynote 3: Interpretive Policy Analysis: Reflecting on Meaning and PracticePresenter: Dvora Yanow, University of Amsterdam (NL)Respondent: Steven Griggs, De Montfort University (UK)
Roundtable 1: Human Agency and Emotions in Policy AnalysisChris Skelcher, Birmingham University (UK)Janet Newman, Open University (UK)Paul Hoggett, UWE, Bristol (UK)
Roundtable 2: Interpretive Policy Analysis in Non-Western ContextsFulong Wu, Cardiff University (UK), on ChinaStephen Connelly, University of Sheffield (UK), on EgyptNavdeep Mathur, India Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IND), on IndiaJenny Pearce, University of Bradford (UK), on Latin America
Roundtable 3: On “The State as Cultural Practice”: Authors meet their criticsAuthors: Mark Bevir, University of California at Berkeley (USA)Rod Rhodes, University of Tasmania (AUS) tbcCritics: Fiona Mackay, University of Edinburgh (UK)Bob Jessop, Lancaster University (UK)Hendrik Wagenaar, Leiden University (NL)Tanja Pritzlaff, University of Bremen (Germany)

For more information:http://www.aesop-planning.com/Congress_files/2011_IPA_callforpanels.pdf