Announcements

  1. Bankrupt, Call for Presenters
    University of Michigan Doctoral Studies in Architecture and Urban Planning
    11.12.13 – 01.01.14

    BANKRUPT

    Call for Presenters

    University of Michigan Doctoral Studies in Architecture and Urban Planning Triennial Graduate Student Conference, Ann Arbor, MI, April 4-5, 2014

    The Doctoral Programs of the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning are pleased to announce a graduate student conference: BANKRUPT.

    In the context of government shutdowns, debt ceiling debates, and the largest municipal bankruptcy in American history, we propose a fresh start. To do this, BANKRUPT asks: How are power relations negotiated through the built environment in a context of crisis? Must democracy be circumvented in bankruptcy? Does insolvency open opportunities for new politics, reinvented institutions, or opportunistic practices? Does austerity create possibilities for innovative building techniques? How do architecture and the city reveal or conceal traumatic economic change? We look to emerging graduate student research on buildings, cities, and landscapes for new ways of thinking about our assets and liabilities.

    This conference is open to current doctoral and master’s degree students from a range of disciplines whose research concerns the built environment including architecture, planning, urban studies, sustainability, and natural resources to name a few. We seek twenty-minute paper presentations from researchers whose work reflects on the theme.

    Graduate students are invited to submit an abstract (300 words max.) of their proposed presentation to BANKRUPT2014@gmail.com by January 1, 2014. Applicants will be notified of the status of their submission by February 1, 2014. While no travel stipend can be offered to accepted presenters, the College is happy to extend free registration for this event and refreshments to presenters and all attendees.

    Conference Committee:

    Michael McCulloch
    Sarah Mills
    Azadeh Omidfar
    Benjamin Smith