Studies in Canadian Literature / Études en littérature canadienne, published at the University of New Brunswick since 1975, invites submissions to a special issue focusing on nature, ecology, and ecocritical approaches to anglophone or francophone Canadian literature, to be edited by Pamela Banting, Cynthia Sugars, and Herb Wyile.
One of the most distinctive developments in late twentieth-century literary criticism has been the impact of ecocriticism, and in Canada, as elsewhere, the country’s writers have exhibited a growing preoccupation with ecological issues, with the relationship between humans and the natural world, and with human impact on the environment. This current trend, however, has a long genealogy; unsurprisingly, in a country with such a huge land mass and a relatively sparse population, a concern with nature runs through the history of the literature of the country. While the editors are particularly interested in ecocritical approaches to Canadian literature, more broadly we welcome original submissions on Canadian writing concerning nature, the environment, and ecology, with no limitations as to region, time period, or type of writing. Interdisciplinary approaches are also welcomed.
Possible topics include:
• Ecocriticism and its particular implications for Canadian literature
• The nature/culture divide
• Literary representations of animals and/or natural spaces
• Rural and urban environments
• Borderlands and liminality
• Globalization, neoliberalism, and ecology
• Biodiversity and cultural diversity
• Nature, colonialism, and decolonization
• The exploitation and/or despoliation of the natural world
• The local, the bioregion, and sense of place
• Intersections between textuality and ecology
• Indigenous knowledges and becoming ‘native’ to a place
• Hunting, gathering, gardening, agriculture, and food
• Children and nature
• Environmental ethics, activism, and experimental pedagogies
Submissions should be 6,000-8,000 words, including Notes and Works Cited. English submissions should conform to the MLA Handbook, 7th edition; French submissions should conform to Le guide du rédacteur(du Bureau de la traduction, 2 éd., Ottawa, 1996).
Please submit essays electronically via Word attachment to scl[at]unb.ca. Deadline for submissions is 15 August 2013, with publication scheduled for 2014. For more information, visit the journal’s website at http://journals.hil.unb.ca/index.php/SCL/ or contact Herb Wyile at Herb.Wyile[at]acadiau.ca or Pamela Banting at pbanting[at]ucalgary.ca
Date: 19–21 June 2014
Location: The Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society, Munich, Germany
Conveners: John Meyer (RCC/Humboldt State University) and Jens Kersten (RCC/LMU Munich)
While environmental challenges including climate change threaten the very fabric of our lives, such that the present course of our societies appears literally unsustainable, ambitious efforts to address these rarely seem to resonate with the everyday concerns and ideas most pressing to citizens in post-industrial societies.
This workshop will focus upon the normative implications of everyday material practices for environmental action. In particular, the workshop will focus upon land, transportation, and household practices. In each of these areas, human experience is inextricably interwoven with technology, the built environment, and the non-human world. The aim is to approach the political challenges of environmental sustainability by examining these everyday practices and the concerns they foster directly, rather than a more abstract environmental discourse that suggests the need to overcome these concerns.
Attention to this materialist basis of environmental concern has long been central in poorer and less industrialized societies, as well as some movements for environmental and climate justice. Yet it has been far less prominent in analyses of environmental concern in Europe, North America, and Oceania. Moreover, attention to practices has often been overshadowed by both individual and structural approaches. This workshop aims to generate new insights into the possibilities for environmental action and change by exploring these everyday material practices, reflecting the social, economic, and ecological ambivalences of greening everyday life.
Analysing everyday practices invites vital questions about:
- concepts of property and ownership;
- the relevance and meaning of citizenship;
- the character and scope of public and private spheres;
- the role of new movements;
- diverse notions of governance;
- popular understandings of freedom; and
- understandings of what counts as “the environment” and “environmentalism” in postindustrial societies.
We anticipate that such questions will be the focal point of papers and workshop discussion.
Proposals are invited from scholars in the environmental humanities and interpretive social sciences. Papers should centrally address one or more of the three areas (land, transport, or household practices), in order to reimagine or illuminate some aspect of the conceptual framework necessary to
Invited participants will be required to submit their completed paper (approximately 6000 words),
in English, by 23 May 2014. These will be circulated to all participants in advance of the workshop.
The Rachel Carson Center will cover the travel cost and accommodation expenses for invited participants.
It is expected that papers will then be revised with the goal of publishing an edited book.
To answer this call for proposals, send a CV and a proposal of 300–400 words, including
a title, to the conference conveners by 15 July 2013. For further questions, please contact either of the event conveners:
Jens Kersten (jens.kersten[at]jura.uni-muenchen.de), and John Meyer ( john.meyer[at]humboldt.edu)
Announcement for the 2014 Eric Wolf Prize
The Political Ecology Society (PESO) announces the 2014 Eric Wolf Prize for the best article-length paper. We seek papers based in substantive field research that make an innovative contribution to Political Ecology. To be eligible for the competition, scholars must be ABD or have received their Ph.D. within the three years prior to publication of this announcement. A cash prize of $500 accompanies the award, which will be presented at the 2014 Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology. The paper will be published in the Journal of Political Ecology; the prize reviewers may suggest revisions before the item is published.
The preferred format for papers is electronic. (But, please contact us, if you need to send in some other format.) Please use the style guidelines provided on the Journal of Political Ecology webpage: http://jpe.library.arizona.edu/. Electronic copies should be sent to Dr. Betsy Taylor (betsyt[at]vt.edu). The deadline for submission is September 1 2013.
Shopping for Change: Consumer Activism in North American History Editors: Louis Hyman (Cornell University) and Joseph Tohill (York University)
Deadline May 11, 2013
FINAL CALL FOR PAPERS:
We invite proposals from academics and activists for a collection of essays, Shopping for Change: Consumer Activism in North American History, that will bring together different historical and contemporary perspectives on consumer activism or political consumerism in the United States and Canada between the turn of the twentieth century and the present.
We are seeking between fifteen and twenty original short essays of 4,000–6,000 words each examining historical and contemporary political consumerism. Essays should be written in an accessible tone and style aimed at a readership that will include academics, activist, and the informed public.
Since at least the early twentieth century, North Americans have engaged in individual and collective action as consumers to fight corporate malfeasance, to influence legislators, and to assert consumers’ rights. Yet being a consumer is more often a social practice than a social identity, and forms of consumer activism—from boycotts to buycotts—have been central to some of the most important struggles for social justice, like civil rights, trade unionism, and anti-globalization, anti-child labor, and anti-sweatshop activism.
Our collection seeks to shed light on contemporary debates and questions about the effectiveness of consumer activism in making social change. How effective has political consumerist action been historically? What are the boundaries on and possibilities for political consumerism in bringing about greater social justice? What lessons from the past can we apply to present and future activism?
Topics of interest include (but are not limited to):
• historical and/or theoretical overviews of consumer activism in its many forms
• international boycotts (against Nazism, Nestle, South-African apartheid, etc)
• consumer activism in social justice movements (black civil rights, La causa, gay rights, etc.)
• campaigns for passage of consumer representation and protection legislation (pure food and drug laws, government consumer agencies, product safety and truth-in-advertising regulations)
• buycotts (white label, union label, buy American and buy Canadian campaigns)
• resistance to collective consumer action by corporate and other interests
• contemporary movements (Fair trade, Green Consumerism, corporate social responsibility, socially responsible investing)
• political consumerism and gender, class, race, and sexuality
Contributions that consider consumer activism in a transnational or comparative context are especially encouraged. Shopping for Change is under contract with Between the Lines Press, and is being considered by leading American academic publishers.
The deadline to submit proposals is May 11, 2013.
Proposals should include a 500 word abstract, one page CV (or resumé), and list of any previous publications. Please direct proposals or inquiries regarding the collection to Dr. Joseph Tohill jtohill[at]yorku.ca. (Accepted authors must submit completed articles by October 15, 2013, and the collection will be published in 2014.)
The Northeast and Atlantic Environmental History Forum will host its second one-day academic workshop to examine new approaches to the environmental history of the Northeastern United States and Atlantic Canada.
The workshop will take place at the University of Maine in Orono on September 28, 2013.
The aim of the workshop is to explore, from different critical perspectives, the environmental history of the Northeast, including New England, eastern Canada, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The workshop will focus on the social and cultural history of the region as shaped by human interaction with nature as well as a complex natural history of geological upheaval, climatic change, erosion, and renewal.
Papers might consider topics such as land use, waterways, forests, oceans, environmental justice, native peoples, women, men, and governments. Papers should be 3,500-4,000 words in length, and present original research on specific topics on the environmental history of the northeastern US and Atlantic Canada. Accepted papers will be pre-circulated to registered attendees. Presentations will be organized into four themed panels. Presenters will be given approximately ten minutes to summarize the paper’s major goals and conclusions before discussion is opened to workshop participants.
Proposals should consist of a 500-word abstract of the proposed paper and a complete CV. All proposals should be submitted individually to Brian Payne at brian.payne[at]bridgew.edu
Deadline for submission is June 21, 2013.
Submission Deadline: 1st of September 2013
Antennae, The Journal of Nature and Visual Culture, is issuing a call for papers for its issue titled “Art, Environment, Sustainability.”
At the forefront of today’s social issues are questions related to the human relationship to nature and the environment, the meaning of a sustainable future and the relationship of environmentalism to modernity and today’s economic structures. While the sciences have, until recently, dominated the debate, the arts are making an increasingly important contribution. Antennae is seeking submissions to an issue focused on Art, Environment, Sustainability. We are seeking contributions that go further than being a mere rehashing of the narrative of environmental activism (the human as destroyer of nature; the dangers of climate change; extinction of species; etc, etc.) to address more fundamental meanings, explore ambiguities and engage with the complex societal questions that arise from the environmental and sustainability debate – and the role of the arts in that debate. We encourage potential contributors to be bold and creative in generating and exploring perspectives that move beyond the apocalyptic and often “preachy” culture of modern environmentalism.
Please submit 350 word proposals to antennaeproject[at]gmail.com by 1st September 2013 for one of the following formats
- Essays = length 6000-10000 words
- Artists’ portfolio = 5/6 images along with 500 words statement/commentary
- Interviews and discussions = maximum length 8000 words
- Fiction = maximum length 8000 words
- Other formats – by discussion with the editors.
Editor in Chief: Giovanni Aloi
Guest Issue Co-Editor: Joe Zammit-Lucia
About Antennae:
Antennae (www.antennae.org.uk) is a quarterly experimental, academic, peer-reviewed publication which broadens the debate on subjects such as animal and environment in Visual Culture. We take an eclectic editorial approach bringing together academic essays, fiction, feature articles, interviews and the use of high quality images. We aim to encourage contributors to engage in creative approaches that may not fit within the requirements of standard academic journals. Antennae has become a point of reference for academics, art connoisseurs, enthusiasts, artists, animal lovers, curators and students.
We invite you and your colleagues to publish your most exciting new work in this important peer-reviewed journal dedicated to all aspects of the environmental justice movement. Submissions are encouraged on a rolling basis.
Environmental Justice (www.liebertpub.com/env) welcomes papers on:
- The adverse health effects on populations that are most subject to health and environmental hazards particularly those related to climate change, global warming, energy/power generation, food production and food access
- The protection of socially, politically, and economically marginalized communities from environmental health impacts and inequitable environmental burden
- The prevention and resolution of harmful policies, projects, and developments and issues of compliance and enforcement, activism, and corrective actions
- Multidisciplinary analysis, debate, and discussion of the impact of past and present public health responses to environmental threats, current and future environmental and urban planning policies, land use decisions, legal responses, and geopolitics
- Past and contemporary environmental compliance and enforcement, activism, and corrective actions, environmental politics, environmental health disparities, environmental sociology, and environmental history
- The connection between environmental remediation, economic empowerment, relocation of facilities that pose hazardous risk to health, selection of new locations for industrial facilities, and the relocation of communities
- The complicated issues inherent in remediation, funding, relocation of facilities that pose hazardous risk to health, and selection for new locations
We strongly encourage interdisciplinary papers that draw upon research from public health, engineering, history, philosophy and the social sciences.
Visit our Instructions for Authors (http://www.liebertpub.com/manuscript/environmental-justice/259/) page for further information.
A sophisticated and wide-ranging sociological literature analyzing
nature-society-culture interactions has blossomed in recent decades. This
new series provides a platform for showcasing the best of that scholarship:
carefully crafted empirical studies of socio-environmental change and the
effects such change has on ecosystems, social institutions, historical
processes and cultural practices.
The series aims for topical and theoretical breadth. Anchored in
sociological analyses of the environment, the series will be home to
studies that employ a range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary
perspectives to investigate the pressing socio-environmental questions of
our time – from environmental inequality and risk, to the science and
politics of climate change and serial disaster, to the environmental causes
and consequences of urbanization and war-making, and beyond.
SERIES EDITOR
Scott Frickel, Washington State University
For general information and guidelines for submission contact:
Peter Mickulas, Editor
Rutgers University Press
(848) 445-7752
mickulas[at]rutgers.edu
Submission Deadline: 1st of September 2013
Antennae, The Journal of Nature and Visual Culture, is issuing a call for papers for its issue titled “Art, Environment, Sustainability.”
At the forefront of today’s social issues are questions related to the human relationship to nature and the environment, the meaning of a sustainable future and the relationship of environmentalism to modernity and today’s economic structures. While the sciences have, until recently, dominated the debate, the arts are making an increasingly important contribution. Antennae is seeking submissions to an issue focused on Art, Environment, Sustainability. We are seeking contributions that go further than being a mere rehashing of the narrative of environmental activism (the human as destroyer of nature; the dangers of climate change; extinction of species; etc, etc.) to address more fundamental meanings, explore ambiguities and engage with the complex societal questions that arise from the environmental and sustainability debate – and the role of the arts in that debate. We encourage potential contributors to be bold and creative in generating and exploring perspectives that move beyond the apocalyptic and often “preachy” culture of modern environmentalism.
Please submit 350 word proposals to antennaeproject[at]gmail.com by 1st September 2013 for one of the following formats
- Essays = length 6000-10000 words
- Artists’ portfolio = 5/6 images along with 500 words statement/commentary
- Interviews and discussions = maximum length 8000 words
- Fiction = maximum length 8000 words
- Other formats – by discussion with the editors.
Editor in Chief: Giovanni Aloi
Guest Issue Co-Editor: Joe Zammit-Lucia
About Antennae:
Antennae is a quarterly experimental, academic, peer-reviewed publication which broadens the debate on subjects such as animal and environment in Visual Culture. We take an eclectic editorial approach bringing together academic essays, fiction, feature articles, interviews and the use of high quality images. We aim to encourage contributors to engage in creative approaches that may not fit within the requirements of standard academic journals. Antennae has become a point of reference for academics, art connoisseurs, enthusiasts, artists, animal lovers, curators and students.
Northern Research Forum in cooperation with the ESPON-ENECON project:
CLIMATE CHANGE IN NORTHERN TERRITORIES
Sharing Experiences, Exploring New Methods and Assessing Socio-Economic Impacts
Conference in Akureyri, Iceland
22 – 23 August 2013
nrf[at]unak.is
Young researchers are requested to fill out the Young Researcher application form by the 1st of April
Background:
The global climate change is by scientists predicted to have great environmental and socio-economic impacts in the whole Arctic as well as in northern Europe. There will be direct and indirect impacts on nature and on communities as well as uncertainties. In addition, global warming is predicted to accelerate off-shore oil and gas drilling in the Northern icy seas and open a new (global) sailing route from the North Atlantic Ocean through the Arctic Ocean to the eastern parts of the globe. All this is expected on one hand, to have great impacts on the economic and social opportunities of the northerly regions in the Arctic including Northern European countries, and on the other hand, to create bigger risks to the fragile Arctic ecosystem. The impact of all this is going to be widespread in North Europe and the entire North. This has already and will in near future mean an increasing need for research in both natural and social sciences as well as for interdisciplinary approach.
The aim of the event is to turn our attention towards this aspect of territorial challenges for European regions by organizing a conference where the focus will be on existing evidence and the need for future research in the northernmost regions of Europe and the Arctic, and the challenge of translating scientific knowledge into action.
The idea is that this conference will bring together researchers which have similar background but have been focusing on different problems and situations and applied different methodological approaches. Regional and local stakeholders as well as state politicians and policymakers are also target groups for this conference.
Steering group:
The Icelandic member of the ENECON steering group and head local organizer on behalf of the project is Professor Grétar Thór Eythórsson, from Univeristy of Akureyri, Iceland together with his ENECON colleagues Mr. Olaf Foss from Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research (NIBR) in Oslo, Norway and Professor Heikki Eskelinen from The University of Eastern Finland.
On behalf of the Northern Research Forum, the Executive Committee of the NRF chaired by Dr. Lassi Heininen, from the University of Lapland in Finland will be in charge of the major preparations of the conference.
Practical organizing is done by a local organizing committee which consists of Mr. Gretar Thór Eythórsson ( gretar@unak.is) from the ENECON project, Mr. Hjalti Jóhannesson director at University of Akureyri Research Centre ( hjalti@unak.is) and Ulrika Nordblom research assistant at University of Akureyri Research Centre and Northern Research Forum secretariat ( ulrikanord@unak.is).
The themes of the conference:
The central theme of the conference will be divided into three sub-themes:
Territorial socio – economic impacts of climate change
Methodologies for assessing socio-economic impact
Adaptation to climate change in regions and local communities – examining methods and sharing knowledge
Guidelines for articles and papers
Information on young researcher participation
Young researchers are required to submit their abstracts using the Young Researcher application form here
Dear Young Researchers,
The NRF secretariat answers to each received application by e-mail. To close out the possibility of missing applications due to technical errors, please make sure that you receive a confirmation from us within two working days after sending your application. If something does not seem to work, you are welcome to contact us at nrf[at]unak.is. You may receive the confirmation after the deadline in case your abstract arrives in the evening on 1st of April. This does not have an effect on the acceptance of applications.
Important dates!
24th January 2012: 2nd call for abstracts
28th February 2013: Deadline for abstracts
1st of April 2013: Deadline for young reasearcher´s applications
15th of April 2013: Deadline for young researcher´s papers
Mid April 2013: Registration opens
1st May 2013: Final program
10th July 2013: Deadline for final registration