Spaces of History / Histories of Space: A Conference at the University of California, Berkeley

Friday-Saturday, April 30-May 1, 2010
112 and 104 Wurster Hall

In the past three decades, a growing number of scholars in the humanities and social sciences have turned their attention to space and to the built environment as a means of understanding historical processes. The writings of Lefebvre, Foucault, Gregory, Harvey, Soja, Latour and others have significantly reshaped the intellectual landscape across academic fields. Meanwhile, the subject matter and research methods of the history of architecture, landscapes and planning have become increasingly open to reassessment.

Looking to survey and assess new approaches and analytical tools for studying the history of built spaces across a variety of scales and geographies, this conference will explore a range of questions pertaining to theory, methodology and pedagogy. How has the “spatial turn” in the humanities and social sciences transformed the ways in which history of the built environment is theorized and researched? How should we study a historical moment when certain types of evidence predominate? What are the potentials and biases in the use of particular research techniques and narrative forms? To what extent are these choices shaped by disciplinary knowledge? How might such interrogations help us conceive new pedagogies for design and planning?

The conference is expected to attract a diverse group of scholars interested in interdisciplinary research on the history of the built environment. Participation from graduate students and early career academics is especially welcome. Participants will present papers related to one of the following two tracks: (1) Interrogating Theories and Methodologies, and (2) History as Pedagogy: Teaching and Practice.

Full conference program:
http://arch.ced.berkeley.edu/events/spacesofhistory2010

Invited Speakers for the Conference Keynote Sessions (In Alphabetical Order)

* David Gissen (California College of the Arts)
* James Holston (University of California, Berkeley)
* Abidin Kusno (University of British Columbia)
* Sylvia Lavin (University of California, Los Angeles)
* Katharyne Mitchell (University of Washington)
* Edward Soja (University of California, Los Angeles)

Conference Sponsors at UC Berkeley

* Draper Architectural History Research Endowment of the College of Environmental Design
* Townsend Center for the Humanities
* The Graduate Assembly
* Center for Middle Eastern Studies
* Portuguese Studies Program

Conference Organizing Committee (In Alphabetical Order)

* Yael Allweil
* Tiago Castela
* Cecilia Chu
* Huey Ying Hsu
* Clare Robinson

Conference Advisors

* Nezar AlSayyad
* Greig Crysler