Call for Papers: Old-New Campus Research Conference (AUC)

As part of the research group affiliated with the Gerhart Center for Philanthropy and the Sociology-Anthropology Department at AUC, I wanted to announce our call for papers. Contact information for questions and submissions is listed at the bottom. Thank you.

Jesse McClelland


Call for Papers: Old-New Campus Research Conference
The American University in Cairo
February 2009

This Fall, The American University in Cairo (AUC) has shifted the bulk of its classes and operations to a new and distant location, east of the Cairo metropolis. In a quickly developing desert landscape, amid far-off clusters of construction, a large and lavish campus has begun to accommodate students, faculty, and staff. For the AUC population, a flurry of emotion has surrounded this move, including excitement, anxiety, and a sense of loss. As with any space, and especially one as complex as a well-established university, social behavior shapes and is shaped by the space’s structural demarcations and aesthetics. Thus, activities ranging from administrative procedure to socializing habits will be affected by the move. Outside of the AUC community, the relocation will also have dramatic effects upon social and economic structures, both in downtown and the areas being built around the new campus. In response to this historic event, a number of AUC professors and students from the departments of Sociology, Anthropology and Psychology have formed the Old-New Campus Research Group in an attempt to better understand the myriad meanings and ramifications of the AUC move.

The Old-New Campus Research Group will hold an interdisciplinary conference during the second week of February 2009, showcasing research being carried out on a broad range of social and cultural issues surrounding the move to the new campus. The conference comes on the heels of the annual February meeting of the AUC Board of Trustees in order to invite board members as well as members of the AUC community and the community-at-large. We invite faculty, post-graduate level scholars, graduates and advanced undergraduates from the AUC community and beyond to submit proposals for 20-minute presentations, posters, photography exhibits, and possibly even performances. Multiple-authored projects are welcomed. Additionally, authors of individual papers may apply jointly to the conference as a group, and such grouped presentations will be considered as panels. Participants will analyze various issues related to AUC's move, presented with the aim of engaging the larger AUC community in a discussion that is both intellectually stimulating and useful on a practical level. We hope to incorporate many perspectives and collaborate with a wide range of centers and departments to examine--and in the process, strengthen--the AUC community.

Proposals should include:
1. Author’s name, position (AUC undergraduate/graduate student/alumnus/ professor/other), and telephone number. If multiple authors, list all.
2. Type of presentation (poster/oral presentation/photography exhibit/film/other)
3. Title of presentation
4. Abstract of no more than 500 words
5. If the proposed presentation is part of a group panel submission, please indicate the panel title and organizer. (Individual submissions will be grouped according to theme by conference organizers.)
6. A computer and projector will be available for all attendees. Please indicate any additional audiovisual needs.

Please send proposals and queries to old.newcampus@yahoo.com by October 15th, 2008, using your preferred email address.