RGS-IBG 2009

[i]Call for papers[/i] Aug 26-28, Manchester Participatory technologies and geographical information: the shifting politics of knowledge This session is framed against a background of two intersecting phenomena: The ongoing 'participatory turn' that has occurred in multiple arenas (development, planning, neighbourhood regeneration, urban community development, science/social science policy, and more); and the growing use of a range of purportedly collaborative or participatory technologies to produce and share geographic information in these contexts. Sometimes framed as a collision between 'Web 2.0' and more conventional geospatial data and technologies, these new technologies include interactive online mapping services such as GoogleEarth, geo-tagging of user-generated online content, the use of cell phones and other mobile devices for gathering and disseminating information that has a geographic component, and of course, the continued expansion and diversification of participatory GIS practices. We are particularly interested in papers that examine how these intersecting phenomena may constitute a shift in the socio-political roles of different forms of knowledge (and especially spatial knowledge). In what ways do these 'participatory' technologies and knowledge-making initiatives disrupt or reinforce some of the conceptual frameworks that have been commonly used to think about the politics of knowledge and knowledge making? How might we need to alter our understandings of already- problematized notions such as 'expert knowledge' and 'local' knowledge, or our conceptualization of the supposed 'expert power' of cartographic representations or geographic information that is technologically mediated? In what ways can this emergent 'crowdsourcing' of geographic information and maps be conceptualized through existing theorizations from critical GIS, critical cartographies, and participatory action research; and in what ways are these theorizations inadequate? Given the nascent status of research on this arena, we welcome a wide range of contributions, including empirically-grounded projects, agenda framing treatments, and conceptually-driven contributions. [b]Please submit abstracts of 250 words to the session organizers by February 3.[/b] Organizers: Christine Dunn, [url=mailto:c.e.dunn@durham.ac.uk]c.e.dunn@durham.ac.uk[/url] ; Sarah Elwood, [url=mailto:selwood@u.washington.edu]selwood@u.washington.edu[/url]