RGS IBG 2019: Time and Austerity: Troubled pasts/ hopeful futures?

Time and Austerity: Troubled pasts/ hopeful futures?
Royal Geographical Society with IBG Annual Conference, London, Wednesday 28 to Friday 30 August 2019

Session convenors: Stephanie Denning (Coventry University), Sarah Marie Hall (University of Manchester) and Ruth Raynor (Newcastle University)
Session sponsorship: the Social and Cultural Geography Research Group

In September 2018, the UK Prime Minister Theresa May claimed that 'austerity is over'. This announcement was made after a decade of austerity policies, the everyday effects of which geographers have explored. These sessions engage with the question of time and austerity: they consider how, after the naming of an 'end,' austerity will endure, and continue to be endured. Over two sessions, we take stock of current research on austerity in human geography and consider where it is heading.

In the first session, lightning talks of 5 minutes and interactive displays will showcase creative practice approaches to austerity research. These will generate discussion with session participants about the place of participatory, activist and socially engaged research in the geographies of austerity. For this session we welcome submissions from both academic researchers, and practitioners and voluntary sector organisations. To support practitioners and voluntary sector organisations' participation we will be able to apply for RGS guest passes to support their attendance.

For the second session, 15 minute conference papers will question the multiple and complex durations of austerity. Is austerity ending? What might be next to come? This session will include projects that are in their preliminary stages of research, and those which focus on the future of austerity.
Together these two sessions will enable us to explore time and austerity: bringing together hope and trouble in the past, present and anticipated futures of austerity.

Please send 250 word abstracts to all three session conveners by Monday 4th February (stephanie.denning@coventry.ac.uk, sarah.m.hall@manchester.ac.uk and ruth.raynor@newcastle.ac.uk) and indicate whether you are submitting to session 1 (lightening talk and interactive display) or session 2 (traditional papers).

For more details about the RGS Annual Conference visit https://www.rgs.org/research/annual-international-conference/