Leisurescapes: Architectures and Landscapes of Tourism in the Global Sun Belt 1945-1980
In conjunction with an ongoing Cyprus-based research project, we are pleased to invite scholars and researchers in architecture, histories of architecture, urbanism and landscape and social, cultural and environmental studies, to contribute to the collaborative Leisurescapes Project. The project took off in 2018 with an international workshop in Nicosia and a second workshop, which intends to bring potential contributors together, is planned for Spring/Summer 2021. The projected final product is an edited scholarly volume that will feature architectural, urban and landscape histories of tourism and leisure analyzed in the broader context of Cold War geopolitics, de-colonization, theories of modernization and development and the reconfiguration of economic geographies in the postwar world.
The project aims to research, document and theorize how leisure tourism became the centerpiece of postwar economies and national development programs of many countries, cutting across the ideological divides of the bi-polar Cold War world and appealing to the newly independent nations of de-colonized regions many of which joined the Non-Aligned Movement. From the proliferation of Hilton Hotels as built symbols of American “soft politics” abroad to the seaside resorts of Soviet-bloc countries conceived as incubators of a new socialist society, or to the making of Southeast Asia into a tourist paradise by economically emergent local elites, the topic evokes a rich array of physical spaces, coastal landscapes and tourism development programs reflecting the complex web of political, social, economic, environmental, cultural and aesthetic agendas that have informed their making.
We are interested in critical studies of how leisure, relaxation and vacationing were conceptualized as sites of modernization and development, how architecture, infrastructure and landscape were deployed as aesthetic expressions of these and how a supra-ideological and a-political discourse of leisure often effectively masked underlying histories of conflict, inequalities and violence. We are particularly interested in contributions that investigate the design and construction of hotels and the transformation of coastal landscapes from a wide range of theoretical positions that are not merely descriptive. We are looking for histories that engage with new theories and critical debates to unpack how specific national development agendas, discourses of design professions and multiple trans-national encounters have shaped the landscapes, physical spaces and spatial politics of tourism, ultimately, shaping multiple understandings and situated experiences of leisure.
In accordance with this goal of collective knowledge production, we are currently working on the format of the projected 2021 workshop in Cyprus, as well as developing digital means of information sharing, archiving research and compiling a bibliography. At the Mesarch Lab of UCY, we are putting together an “Informal Archive” of images, videos, case studies, news items and relevant published essays that can form a basis for discussion among contributing authors. It is our expectation that this CFP will solicit other potential participants in this project-focused agenda with a given timetable and a specific deliverable in the form of a publication.
Title and Abstracts of proposed papers should be up to 500 words and should be emailed to leisurescapes@ucy.ac.cy and pyla@ucy.ac.cy. These should be accompanied by a 2-page CV and selected bibliography.
Project Coordinators/Editors
Panayiota Pyla, University of Cyprus
Sibel Bozdogan, Boston University
Petros Phokaides, National Technical University of Athens
Partial List of Contributing Authors
Melita Čavlović, University of Zagreb
Jiat-Hwee Chang, National University of Singapore
Meltem Ö. Gürel, Yaşar University
Juliana Maxim, University of San Diego
Alona Nitzan-Shiftan, Technion
Anoma Pieris, University of Melbourne
Lukasz Stanek, The University of Manchester
Timetable
Announcement of the CFP
20 December 2019
Abstract submissions due
1 March 2020
Announcement of selected proposals
24 April 2020
Skype Workshops
May/June 2020
First Drafts due
October 2020
Skype Workshops
Fall 2020
Second Drafts due (just before workshop)
April 2021
Workshop in Cyprus
May/June 2021
Final Drafts
August 2021
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