Dear all, See the Call for Papers below. We highly encourage everybody interested in ecotourism and extraction issues to send in an abstract (even if you cannot make it to the EASA conference - see Edited Volume plans below).
Best wishes, Bram and Veronica Workshop proposal for the 12th European Association of Social Anthropologists Biennial Conference, Nanterre, France 10-13th July 2012 Proposed by: Veronica Davidov (Leiden University College) and Bram Büscher (ISS, Erasmus University and Department of Geography, Environmental Management and Energy Studies, University of Johannesburg) Uncomfortable Bedfollows? Exploring the Contradictory Natures of the Ecotourism/Extraction Nexus Abstract: Campo Ma'an National Park bordering the Chad-Cameroon oil pipeline. Indigenous eco-lodges in Ecuador's “oil patch.” Eco-destinations minutes away from quarries in Northern Russia. Oil exploration in Zambia’s Luangwe National Park. How can we understand these seemingly contradictory situations where ecotourism and natural resource extraction occur side-by-side, sometimes even supported by the same institutions? And how can we study them? So far, ecotourism is primarily perceived and studied as an alternative to resource extraction, while studies of resource extraction generally do not include ecotourism projects that may exist in the vicinity of the extraction sites. Existing academic and policy literatures privilege oppositions and transitions between “sustainable” and “unsustainable” development, over congruences and synergies, which could reveal the uncertainties, contradictions and fluidities inherent in this polarization. Because of this framing bias, the phenomenon of ecotourism in areas concurrently affected by extraction industries (oil production, mining, logging), remains understudied, even though such a scenario is increasingly common in resource-rich developing nations. We invite papers that contribute to destabilizing the normative production of knowledge which positions extraction and ecotourism as mutually exclusive alternatives, rather than (un)comfortable bedfellows. In the workshop, we will critically reflect on why these two phenomena are systematically decoupled, and epistemologically and analytically re-link them through engaging with ethnographic case studies in the political-economic context of late capitalism. Through an integrated discussion of these empirical cases, we endeavour to theorize the possibilities for anthropologists to study resource extraction and ecotourism as a nexus. You can submit an abstract through the EASA website: http://www.nomadit.co.uk/easa/easa2012/panels.php5?PanelID=1085. The call closes on November 28th, 2011, but we encourage you make your proposal beforehand, as the web interface may become overloaded in the final days before the deadline. EDITED VOLUME PLANS: note to potential authors. We envision this workshop as part of a process that will result in an edited book which will most likely be published by Routledge as part of the Routledge/ISS series on rural livelihoods. Authors of papers proposed for the workshop are invited to participate in the edited collection. Scholars who are interested in being included in the edited volume, but who are unable to attend the EASA Conference, are invited to submit their abstracts directly to us (rather than through the EASA web interface). In addition to anthropologists, we welcome submissions from critical geographers, environmental sociologists, and any other scholars who are ethnographically engaged with this topic. For any questions, or to request more information, please contact Veronica Davidov ([email protected]) or Bram Büscher ([email protected]). -------------------------------- Dr. Bram Büscher Associate Professor of Environment and Sustainable Development International Institute of Social Studies - Erasmus University Kortenaerkade 12, 2518 AX The Hague, The Netherlands +31 (0)70 4260 596 / [email protected] http://www.iss.nl/buscher http://www.brambuscher.com Please refer to: http://www.iss.nl/content/view/full/2873 for ISS’ email disclaimer.
