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A prominent environmental theologian begins a chapter of a recent book with a request familiar to all parents and children alike. “Tell me a story…a story about when you were young.” The past entices us because it seems a fixed reliable point of reference in a world dominated by rapid change and diminishing expectations. Narratives of place have an ameliorating influence that has contributed to slowing the tempo of the Saint Vitus dance of the American psyche, while supporting an existential truism ‘the more subjective we become the more public we are.’ As one student of place put it "…the catalyst that converts any physical location—any environment if you will—into a place is the process of experiencing deeply. A place is a piece of the whole environment that has been claimed by feelings."
We are looking for papers/presentations that explore the idea of place and its relevance to urban-suburban environments. Potential topics are too numerous to list but include characteristics of place (incompletely commodified, sustainable, source of identity) values and place (political, ethical, economic, spiritual, historical), place as a viable nexus for culture/nature exchange, the phenomenology of place, and general philosophies of place. These are only suggestions; we encourage diverse perspectives.
Preference will be given to submissions that approach the topic from various disciplinary perspectives: anthropology, architecture, city planning, conservation biology, conservation/preservation, evolutionary theory, legal theory, literary theory, environmental philosophy, environmental psychology, sociology and theology for example.
The conference is scheduled for Friday, April 16th 2004 on the Pace University New York City campus, 1Pace Plaza from 9:30 – 4:30PM
Please send abstracts of no more than 250 words with a biographical summary to Robert Chapman—Director, The Pace Institute for Environmental & Regional Studies. Pace University. 41 Park Row, room 315 New York, NY 10038. E-Mail submissions are accepted if and only if sent as attachments in Microsoft Word format. Send to rchapman@pace.edu, posted by Dr. Hune Margulies (hune@earthlink.net)
Deadline for submission of abstracts is March 8th, 2004. Select papers will be published in PIERS Conference Proceedings, volume 3
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