[H-verkko] CFP: Rust, Regeneration and Romance: Iron and Steel Landscapes and Cultures

[agricola at utu.fi]

Agricolan Artikkelipyyntötietokantaan
( http://agricola.utu.fi/nyt/pyynnot/ )
on tullut seuraava ilmoitus:

Rust, Regeneration and Romance: Iron and Steel Landscapes and
Cultures

International Conference Announcement and Call for Papers

Ironbridge International Institute for Cultural Heritage, University
of Birmingham
and 
The Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust

Rust, Regeneration and Romance: Iron and Steel Landscapes and
Cultures
10-14 July 2013, Ironbridge, UK

For centuries iron and steel have been the fundamental building
blocks of modernity. These metals and the technologies, societies and
cultures surrounding them have revolutionised the lives of billions of
people. From the earliest functional usage of iron in domestic life,
to decorative cast iron, from weapons to knives and forks and from
the use of high tensile steels in buildings around the world to the
stainless steels of space exploration, the transformative power of
iron and steel is undeniable. This capacity to transform extends to
the landscapes and cultures which have themselves been transformed
through the mining, production, processing and consumption of iron
and steel. As China and India race to modernise their economies with
imported iron and steel, many cities across Europe and North America
are still struggling with the decline in production and manufacture.
In many parts of Europe former centres of iron and steel production
have undergone regeneration and now form part of the tourism economy.
Rust has gained currency as part of industrial heritage. Still, in
many parts of the developing world, ideas of heritage lie very much
in the future, as communities continue to work in the mining of iron
ore and the production and fabrication of steel.  

This conference seeks to engage in an open multi-disciplinary
analysis of iron and steel landscapes and cultures, from the ancient
to the modern. It looks toward the legacies of both production and
consumption and how these metals have influenced all aspects of
social life. We wish to explore the relationships that communities,
regions, nations share with iron and steel through its functional
use, creative and artistic use and its symbolic use. Indicative
questions the conference will address are: How are economies and
societies transformed by the extraction and processing of iron? How
does the environmental impact and legacy of iron and steel sites
shape social and political life? How do governments and communities
deal with both the expansion and decline of the iron and steel
industries? What are the forms and formats of regeneration for iron
and steel landscapes and communities?  To what extent are global
communities connected through iron and steel, economically and
culturally? How have the landscapes and cultures of iron and steel
found expression through various art forms? How are these landscapes
managed and understood?

The conference welcomes academics from the widest range of
disciplines and wishes to act as a forum for exchange between the
sciences, social sciences and the humanities. The conference will
draw from anthropology, archaeology, art history, architecture,
engineering, ethnology, heritage studies, history, geography,
landscape studies, linguistics, metallurgy, museum studies,
sociology, tourism studies etc. The conference will take place at the
Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site.

Indicative themes of interest to the conference include:
•	Understanding iron and steel landscapes – historic and contemporary
perspectives
•	Human – technology relationships
•	Challenges in the presentation and interpretation of iron and steel
heritage
•	Touring and tourism in iron and steel landscapes
•	Histories and ethnographies of iron and steel communities - labour
relations and working environments
•	Architectural tropes surrounding mining and fabrication
•	Representations of iron and steel cultures in the ‘popular’ media
•	The ‘cultural industries’ (arts, sport, tourism, etc.) in the
regeneration of iron and steel communities
•	Languages of steel cities – dialects and territories
•	Symbolic economies of iron and steel - iconography, art and design

Abstracts of 300 words with a clear title should be sent as soon as
possible but no later than January 31st 2013 to
ironbridge at contacts.bham.ac.uk.  
Please be sure to include your full contact details. 
Information will be updated on the website
http://ironandsteel2013.wordpress.com/. 

With best wishes

Professor Mike Robinson
Chair of Cultural Heritage
University of Birmingham

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Ilmoituksen lähetti: Agricola <agricola at utu.fi>
Ilmoitus vanhentuu: 01.02.2013
Lisätietoja WWW-osoitteesta: http://ironandsteel2013.wordpress.com/