Monday, March 6, 2006

AAG 2006 - Community in Formation, Chicago, March 7th-11th

Simulation of Pearl Harbor bombing, Edwards Air Force Base. Wendy Cheng, 2005.

Last year, a group of us were looking for a way to work on a project together. We came up with a mini-conference around the theme ‘living beyond the warfare-welfare complex’, a phrase that encompassed all of our individual projects and spoke to some of our political commitments and desires. The mini-conference format that we chose for the project’s first phase was great for providing us a way to meet with each other and collaborate at the conference, generating a good deal of excitement and energy.

This year we have made the project less centralized and more democratic. The AGG is a project, not a membership organization, and is independent from the AAG. We invite anyone who shares the overarching political goals and desire to experiment with forms of knowledge creation and representation to join the AGG listserv and propose projects that you would like to work on or are already planning. These can range from the formal AAG sessions in the future (which bring us together each year after all), to events or (de)tours, or confabs, etc., anything you’re up to.

AGG is a working group that collaborates our independent works, illuminating the life and death connections between militarism, racism, sexism, capitalism, the state, and politics. We aim to create activist research that honors struggles for survival and dignity and helps create a better world. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/activistgeographers/

Activist Geographers Grouping, Season Two:
Community in Formation– Chicago
Sessions, Events, Parties, and Meetings

(all events are located at the Palmer Hotel unless otherwise noted)

Wednesday March 8
The Art of Doing Geography: Reflections on a Community Mural Project as Participatory Geographic Learning 2pm, Clark 1

Thursday March 9
Racial Discourse, Spatial Practices, and the Materiality of Race
10am, Monroe Ballroom

AGG planning meeting, 6:30-7:30pm, Exchequer, 226 S. Wabash Ave.
(Meeting convening promptly so folks can go to the GPOW reception)
The agenda is to meet each other, talk about our ideas for the group, and begin planning for the San Francisco AAG and other AAG projects.

Friday March 10
Activism and Gentrification Research: A Roundtable Discussion
Private Dining Room 9
Roundtable discussion 1, 8am
Roundtable discussion 2, 10am

The Performative and the Political, Salon 10
Session 1: noon
Session 2: 2pm

Inaugural James Blaut Award & Memorial Lecture, presented to Ruthie Gilmore
7:45pm-9pm, Salon 10
***AGG/SCGSG Party*** 9pm-??, Billy Goat Tavern, 430 N. Lower Michigan Ave. Take the Red line north to Grand station. Cash only, but cheap.

Saturday March 11
Critical Explorations of Militarism, Salon 1
I: Militarism and the Construction of Natures, 8am
II: Militarized Environments, 10am
III: Feminist Geopolitics & Everyday Life 1, 2pm
IV: Feminist Geopolitics & Everyday Life 2, 4pm

Critical Geographies of Education: Taking Back (Higher) Education:
A Roundtable Discussion & Strategy Session, 10am, Salon 11

3 Ds: Drinks/Dinner/Dancing
following the Critical Explorations of Militarism series, meet at Salon 1 at 5:45 for all or part of evening’s plans