We are running a 2021-22 Reading Group on urban infrastructural (re)configurations. We are interested in infrastructure and the everyday, focusing on the human-infrastructure interface.
Authors will join us for the discussion of their work (Session 1-3). The future reading list will be co-developed with reading groups members as we progress.
The group’s aim is to support individual and collaborative writing and the development of research ideas.
We meet online every three weeks.
Key readings:
Session 1 (28.10.2021): Geoffrey M. Bowker (Thursday, 4.30pm GMT +1)
Bowker, G. C. (1995). Second nature once removed: Time, space and representations. Time & Society, 4(1), 47-66.
Moderated by Dr Debapriya Chakrabarti, ESRC Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Manchester
Session 2 (18.11.2021): Ash Amin (Thursday, 4.30pm GMT +0)
Amin, A. (2014). Lively infrastructure. Theory, Culture & Society, 31(7-8), 137-161.
Moderated by Purva Dewoolkar, PhD researcher, University of Manchester
Session 3 (09.12.2021): Brian Larkin (Thursday, 4.30pm GMT +0)
Larkin, B. (2013). The Politics and Poetics of Infrastructure. Annual Review of Anthropology, 42(1), 327-343. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-anthro-092412-155522
Moderated by Dr Deljana Iossifova, Senior Lecturer in Urban Studies, University of Manchester
Format:
One member of the group will prepare and circulate a 2–3-page review of the week’s reading in advance of the session, followed by a 15-minute presentation at the start of the session. The rest of the time will be dedicated to (group) discussion and the opportunity to hear from authors, who will be joining us for the discussion.