Call for Papers

2010 Association of American Geographers (AAG) Annual Meeting Washington, D.C., April 14-18, 2010

Common concerns?: Rethinking the transport/mobilities divide

Organizers: Jennie Middleton and Jon Shaw (School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Plymouth)

Alongside more traditional approaches in transport geography, the ?mobilities turn? is now well established across the social sciences with increasing attention being paid to the mobility of people and goods, ideas and information. Yet these approaches to the study of movement have largely passed each other by, their intellectual journeys following generally different trajectories on account of being taken by different types of academic, interested in different aspects of movement and speaking different kinds of language. At the 2008 Association of American Geographers (AAG) Conference in Boston, Massachusetts a panel came together of mobilities scholars and transport geographers who were invited to discuss these very issues and possible connections/synergies between their areas of/approaches to the study of movement. The panel discussed the following questions: to what extent are transport geography and mobility compatible?; how far do they already coincide?; how far is it desirable, practical, profitable for them to coincide?; and what are the potential ways forward in terms of theoretical and methodological development and empirical data collection?

Although it is clear that a substantial divide remains between the two approaches, the panel recognised a number of key areas of mutual interest and concern. Building on the 2008 session, we aim to explore further opportunities for ?boundary crossing? in order to promote a better appreciation of each other?s activities and facilitate an increased dialogue between mobilities and transport scholars. Whilst recognising that differing approaches will never be fully reconciled (or that such a thing is in fact even desirable), we invite conceptual and/or empirical/methodological contributions that provide opportunities for discussing common concerns across these fields of research. We are particularly keen for the research being presented to include reflections on its potential to engage beyond these perceived ?boundaries?. Thematically, this session seeks to address, but are not confined to, the following topics:

- Transportation
- Migration
- Transnational flows of people, objects, commodities, information and capital
- Travel and tourism
- Infrastructure, governance and policy
- Social networks
- Mobile communications and technologies
- Socio-cultural, political and economic dimensions of transport and movement
- Everyday practices, habits and routines
- Corporeal, affective and emotional topographies

Abstracts (of no more than 250 words) and expressions of interests should be sent to Jennie Middleton (jennie.middleton@plymouth.ac.uk) or Jon Shaw (jon.shaw@plymouth.ac.uk) by 18th October 2009.

Professor Jon Shaw
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences / Centre for Sustainable Transport
Associate Editor, Journal of Transport Geography

University of Plymouth
Drake Circus
Plymouth PL4 8AA
England

T: +44 (0) 1752 585963
F: +44 (0) 1752 585998
E: jon.shaw@plymouth.ac.uk

www.plymouth.ac.uk/staff/jshaw1
www.ssb.plymouth.ac.uk/CST