This is a call for papers for the RGS-IBG Postgraduate Mid-term Conference, to be hosted over the weekend of 1st-3rd April 2011 at the Department of Geography, Durham University. The aim of the conference is to provide a welcoming, relaxed and supportive environment for postgraduates to present any aspect of their research to their peers.
Papers with any theme on any topic within geography or a related discipline are invited, and postgraduates should feel comfortable presenting their work at any stage of its development. We would also welcome any papers or posters which deal with this year’s conference theme: ‘Geographical Futures’. Fundamentally, all postgraduate work requires some sort of orientation towards a future goal, namely the PhD thesis. Many postgraduates may also be hoping to develop future careers as geographers. How does an orientation towards these two futures affect the work of postgraduates and the research that they do? Presenters might also want to consider how their research might open up future paths of investigation within geography or their sub-discipline, what futures geography as a whole moving in and what futures are being neglected. We particularly encourage delegates to address the issue of originality in their papers and posters, in recognition of this central facet of postgraduate scholarship, and to reflect upon the original contribution of their research and the futures that this presents.Thus, papers and posters may vary from, but are not limited to, explicit theorisations of future and futurity to considerations about how postgraduate scholarship is aligned and shaped but also moulds and enacts future trends in the discipline.
Please send abstracts of no more than 200 words to the conference to either robert.shaw@durham.ac.uk or s.d.knox@durham.ac.uk by no later than 1st February 2011. Paper presentations should be no more than 12 minutes’ length, and posters should be prepared on A0 paper.
All delegates must register: please see http://www.dur.ac.uk/geography/conferences/rgs_ibg_midterm/registration/ for registration forms.
RGS IBG postgraduate mid-term conference 5th/6th March 2010: Aberystwyth University. Conference theme: Engaging Geographies.
Thank you to all who helped organise the conference. It was a fantastic couple of days, and with over 90 delegates from around Europe it was a massive success. Our plenary speaker, Professor Klaus Dodds did an excellent job- showing the ways that postgraduate students can think both within and beyond their discipline, looking towards their (geographical) futures.
Our conference theme of ‘engaging geographies’ definitely had an impact upon the sessions for the day, with sessions on a wide range of topics in contemporary geography: energy; technology and policy; place and migration; development and post colonial geography; embodied geographies; environmental change; GIS and environmental modelling; and the human response to the natural environment; that stretch right across the discipline. The theme encouraged presenters to think of the ways in which current geographical research might be meaningful beyond the academe; highlighting the relationship that geography has with wider policy initiatives, governmental initiatives, and other disciplines. This is always a challenge so thanks go out to all involved for contributing to this fantastic debate. We also had sessions on current enquiries into different methodologies, which is always a talking point for any postgraduate researcher.
There was a definite air of conference networking over lunch and the coffee breaks, and it was great to see people striking up conversations over the posters that were positioned around the focal point of the conference.
In the afternoon, we went straight into the workshop sessions, ran by various faculty members at the Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences (IGES). Prof. Matthew Hannah conducted a workshop on ontology and epistemology which had conference delegates talking about the related battles they have in the course of their study. Reports received from other workshops – which included the traps and pitfalls of PhD study, viva preparation and survival, tips on publishing, and how to actually structure the thesis – were also highly positive.
At the end of the day it was great to move away from the academic side of conferencing towards post conference relaxation and networking of a different kind. We had a fantastic post conference meal at one of Aberystwyth’s landmarks: the Constitution Hill restaurant. Conversation continued to flow and most people even had a turn on the dance floor!
All in all, a great couple of days. Special thanks to Dr Catherine Souch for her contributions to the conference, to Professor Dodds for the fantastic plenary speech, all those faculty members from IGES, all of those on the organising committee, and finally the participants for making it such an engaging and fun conference. We hope to see many of you at next year’s event, held at Durham.
The annual RGS-IBG Postgraduate Forum Mid-Term Conference provides a relaxed, supportive, yet academically relevant atmosphere for postgraduate geographers from all aspects of the discipline to present their research and to discuss ideas. The conference is also a social event, and an ideal opportunity to meet up with other postgraduates. Postgraduates at any stage in their research career are encouraged to present their work or simply to listen to others. We welcome papers or posters from any geography-related subject: human geography, physical geography, and GIS. Presentations are arranged into themed sessions (based on submitted abstracts) that run throughout the day. Posters will be displayed during the lunch period for viewing by all delegates. Workshops also address different aspects of postgraduate development. The conference ends with drinks to celebrate the day and delegates usually join us in the evening for a meal. This year’s conference theme will be ‘Engaging geographies’, and will focus on how the discipline of geography is advancing through current research being undertaken by post graduate students. We will be hosting a plenary session (guest speaker TBC) on the evening of the 5th March. Further details will be posted closer to the event, but please try to make your way to Aberystwyth for this session on the evening of the 5th starting at 7:30pm.