Second Cities:An Interdisciplinary Symposium
30 April-1 May 2004
Glasgow, Scotland
Deadline for proposals: 14 November 2003

The Andrew Hook Centre for American Studies at the University of Glasgow invites proposals for papers for a symposium entitled Second Cities. Looking at the United States from the vantage point of Glasgow, the self-styled ‘Second City of the British Empire,’ we note similarities to American cities such as Chicago or Philadelphia, which have also been known by this term. Collectively, we will explore how Second Cities are defined and what their cultural, economic, and political roles have been and continue to be. While our primary focus is the United States, we welcome proposals about Second Cities in other nations, as well as comparative studies or theoretical considerations. We encourage proposals from fields across the humanities and social sciences.

Questions of interest include, though are certainly not limited to, the following:

• Second to what? How are Second Cities juxtaposed to ‘first’ cities or capital cities, and what are the distinctions between these categories? On the other hand, what is the relation of Second Cities to smaller communities?
• Second of how many? Are Second Cities viewed in regional, national, international, or as the case of Glasgow, imperial contexts? If a capital city is symbolic of a nation, are Second Cities in fact more characteristic of that nation?
• Second in what sense? How are Second Cities evaluated or measured? In terms of demography, economy, cultural production, or other qualities?
• Are Second Cities temporally bound? Does the appellation emerge as cities are ‘on the way up’ promoted by local boosters or are they former first cities now surpassed by other locales?
• Is the designation of Second City embraced from within or imposed from without?
• When did Second Cities emerge? Is the concept still a useful one?
• How are Second Cities represented?

Please send a 1-page paper proposal and 1-page c.v. by 14 November 2003 to the address given below.

Queries may be addressed via the email given below.

Conference organisers plan to publish a volume of essays selected from the symposium. Prospective presenters should be prepared to submit article-length versions of their papers by September 2004, allowing time for incorporation of feedback from symposium participants and any additional research or revisions that authors wish to make.