The Diverse Suburb: History, Politics, and Prospects

[i]Call for papers[/i] Hofstra University (Hempstead, New York) October 22-24, 2009 In recent years, conventional accounts of suburban homogeneity have been called into question. Scholars, journalists, community organizers, and advocates have noted the growing racial, ethnic, and class diversity of many suburbs, and have speculated about what these shifts mean for our understanding of suburban life. At the same time, scholars of the *new suburban history* have brought to light the buried histories of poor white suburbs, of suburbs of color, and of the women whose varied roles within suburban communities defied neat categorizations based on place. Organizations and individuals who fight for social and economic justice, meanwhile, have continued to encounter suburban resistance to equity and inclusion. The National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra invites academics, activists, and policymakers to an international and interdisciplinary conference that will consider the challenging and emergent phenomenon of suburban diversity. What are the implications of this growing diversity? To what extent is this apparent growth simply a rediscovery of differences long written out of suburban history? How is suburban diversity linked to processes, such as globalization, that operate above and cut across the local scale? Do the changing suburbs present new opportunities for creating a more just and equitable society? We welcome proposals for individual papers, organized sessions, and roundtables that address these questions from a variety of approaches. Topics might include, but are not limited to: * Racial and ethnic suburban enclaves, past and present * International migration to the suburbs * White supremacy, structural/institutional racism, and white privilege in the suburbs * Changing patterns of suburban class segregation * Environmental justice movements in the suburbs * Women*s leadership in suburban social movements * New forms of suburban social and political organization * Affordable housing and suburban gentrification * Inequality and suburban schools * Control of public space and a 'right to the suburb' * Age and inclusion in the suburbs * Sexuality, queer identity, and suburban politics * Representations of diverse suburbs in the visual and performing arts * International/comparative analyses of suburban diversity * New suburban populations and suburban religious life Individual paper abstracts should be limited to 200 words and submitted through the conference website [b]before January 31, 2009[/b]. Proposals for organized paper sessions, panels, and roundtables should be sent to Christopher Niedt ([url=mailto:Christopher.Niedt@hofstra.edu]Christopher.Niedt@hofstra.edu[/url] ) as soon as possible; please include the names and contact information for all confirmed and potential participants. To submit an abstract, please visit our website at http://www.hofstra.edu/diversesuburb