Monday, September 19, 2005

Job Opening

University of Florida
Center for Women’s Studies and Gender Research

The Center for Women’s Studies and Gender Research (CWSGR) at the University of Florida is pleased to announce its search for a full-time tenure-track appointment at the rank of assistant professor beginning August 2006. PhD required at time of appointment, in women’s studies or related field, with specialization in transnational feminist and gender studies. Candidates will be expected to complement and build upon expertise of the eight faculty members who are now full-time or joint-appointed in CWSGR. They should be prepared to help strengthen links with our international programs, and with transnational and global studies in particular. Scholarly strength preferred in Asian or African studies with specialization in gender, race, sexuality, comparative and/or diasporic studies. Over the next few years, we anticipate developing such areas as feminist approaches to politics and social justice; science and environmental studies; and media and cultural studies. Candidates should be broadly interdisciplinary and have active programs of research and publication under way. The person hired will teach core undergraduate and graduate courses; teaching experience in women’s studies is desirable.

CWSGR has long functioned as an autonomous program in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and it will soon occupy its own historic building on the UF campus. The Center offers the BA and MA in Women’s Studies and hopes to establish a PhD program in the next several years.

The University of Florida offers excellent support for research and scholarly development and enjoys a strong and diverse body of students and faculty. Gainesville is a culturally rich university community in north-central Florida.

Please send letter of application, email address, CV, and names and contact information (including email) of three persons willing to write references to Florence Babb, Chair, Search Committee, Center for Women’s Studies and Gender Research, 3324 Turlington Hall, PO Box 117352, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611. Applications should be received by November 15, 2005 and should reference job number 00021741.

For more information, see http://web.wst.ufl.edu

The University of Florida is an equal opportunity institution.

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Call for Papers 2

Organizers: Samuel Randalls (University of Birmingham), Jeffrey C. Brunskill (Middlebury College), Akiko Yamane (Monash University)

Session Title: Weather and Society: Changing Weather Knowledges

Annual Conference of the Association of American Geographers 2006 - March 7th-11th, Chicago, IL.

Description:

One critical aspect in understanding weather and society is to appreciate the different types and changing nature of weather knowledge. Over the last century modern forecasting, theory and analysis has created a body of weather knowledge that is, in many ways, distinct from what might be termed everyday, commonsense weather knowledge. This relationship may be characterized in many ways – expert naïve, scientific/folk, technology based/experience based, and the like. There are a variety of issues that come to light regarding the interaction between these qualitative knowledge domains, particularly in the context of weather communication, visualization, prediction, risk assessment (climate change / forecasting), and scientific/lay uses of weather information. The relevance of such domains is evident in the recent impact, and perceived impact, of Hurricane Katrina in the Southeastern United States.

Building upon last year’s session, we invite critical research papers that consider the broad relationship between modern meteorological/climatological theory and social, cultural and conceptual dimensions of weather knowledge. This includes the social, political and economic aspects surrounding the distinction (of e.g. expert/lay) and the ways in which they create cultures, politics and economics of the weather. The session aims to be explicitly interdisciplinary, combining both scientific and social scientific knowledges. Papers may include, but not be limited to:

- Large-scale versus small-scale/locally derived weather knowledge
- Direct experience versus technologically derived knowledge and concepts of the weather
- Forms of communication (visual, terminological, media)
- Forecasts and assessments of climate change (as they relate to the connection between climatology and weather/climate knowledge)
- Perceptions of Risk and Vulnerability
- Risk and extreme weather
- Cultures, economics and politics of the weather
- Historical study – evolution of modern theory and relations to everyday and ‘folk’ theories?
- Future Applications – decision making, visualizations, representations

Please send copies of your abstract (no more than 250 words) to either Samuel Randalls (scr857@bham.ac.uk), Jeff Brunskill (jbrunski@middlebury.edu) or Akiko Yamane (Akiko.Yamane@arts.monash.edu.au) by the 5th of October. We welcome any informal contact or ideas for papers prior to this date. An illustrated paper session can be arranged if there is sufficient interest. Details of paper time allocations, poster information etc. can be found at the AAG Homepage. The conference will take place from March 7th to 11th 2006, details on location and registration costs etc. can also be found on the AAG's site.

Session Organizer Contacts:

Samuel Randalls – scr857@bham.ac.uk
Jeff Brunskill – jbrunski@middlebury.edu
Akiko Yamane – Akiko.Yamane@arts.monash.edu.au

Thursday, September 08, 2005

Call for Papers

Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers Chicago, Illinois USA March 7th to 11th, 2006

Session: Regional Transportation Sustainability: Alternatives to Fossil Fuels

Sponsor: Transportation Geography Specialty Group

Deadline: October 1st, 2005

The over reliance on fossil fuels has an impact on the quality of urban life as well as on regional competitiveness. Air pollution threatens the public health, while traffic congestion contributes to greater transportation cost differentials. To offset the negative externalities of pollution and congestion, academics, practitioners, stakeholders and policymakers with an interest in transportation have begun to realize that sustainability has important environmental and economic ramifications. The need to provide access to more environmentally-friendly modes of transportation includes the promotion of public transit, alternative fuel vehicles, bicycling, walking as well as telecommuting. Transportation alternatives offer not only the prospect of cleaner air and accessibility; they also address the negative consequences of congestion and pollution on the competitiveness of the regional economy by reducing the burden on the capacity of transportation networks. This session seek s to discuss alternative modes of transportation and to address the challenges to their implementation. Social scientists with an applied perspective and transportation practitioners are invited to submit papers as are those whose work is more policy driven.

After registering for the conference at http://www.aag.org/annualmeetings/ and submitting your abstract for a paper session, forward a copy of the abstract and your PIN to:

Ed Zolnik, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Geography
George Mason University
Fairfax, Virginia 22030 USA
Tel: (703)993-1144
Fax: (703)993-1216
E-mail: ezolnik@gmu.edu