Argument

The conference will deal with recent physical transformations and developments of Southeast Asian cities. This broadly defined geographical area is characterised in part by the diversity of its human settlements, which historically have experienced intense cultural exchanges with each other and with other cultures from beyond Southeast Asia.

These historic interactions have led to the creation of distinctive spatial cultures. Today, Southeast Asian cities are experiencing both rapid urban transformations and increased globalizing influences, which are reflected in the changing nature of the agents, models and tools of urban development. In analyzing these trends, the conference will question the influence of inherited spatial cultures in the shaping of recent projects.

Contemporary debates in urban studies often centre around the idea of a uniform kind of globalizing urbanization which is spreading worldwide. The conference will examine this idea as a hypothesis in light of the history of each city, the persistence of ancient urban morphologies, and heritage policies promoted by various Southeast Asian nations.

The conference is organized around five thematic panels (see more detailed descriptions below), where paper presenters will reflect upon how agents responsible for physical changes, and the operational tools employed in urban development interact in the designing and implementing of architectural and urban projects. They will retrace the circulation of models and their reception by different kinds of agents -- particularly by the inhabitants – who appropriate, transform or contest urban projects imposed “from above”.

Papers will also deal with questions such as: Do projects embody a particular vision and expression of architectural and urban modernity and, if so, how? Are these expressions of modernity specific to Southeast Asian cities because they are the results of the encounters between exogenous inputs and locally based cultures? In addressing these and other questions, the papers will analyze the originality of recent projects and spatial solutions in Southeast Asian cities.

The papers will not only focus on architectural and urban creation, but also on projects which aim to conserve and/or enhance inherited urban forms and spaces. In the same way that the design of new projects is likely to be influenced both by international and local models, distinct representations of heritage which inform conservation projects often draw upon external cultural backgrounds while making reference to specific local cultures.

3The conference will deliberately focus on Southeast Asian countries, primarily because since the 1970s our research group has mainly conducted research within these countries. Furthermore, recently, analytical backgrounds and operational tools involved in urban development easily circulate among the countries comprising ASEAN, where transnational exchanges are becoming increasingly frequent. The conference will explore the perimeters, parameters and networks associated with these exchanges, which sometimes extend beyond the limits of Southeast Asia, to include China, India, Japan and other nation states. The conference will also question the role of regionalisation – which has mainly been studied from the historical, geographical and political point of view - in shaping contemporary Southeast Asian cities.

One key objective of the conference is to amalgamate both French and non-French research focusing on contemporary Southeast Asian cities, and to foster interdisciplinary approaches in urban studies which cohere some of the most critical concepts, tools and the methods of architectural and urban analysis with those that are typical of social scientific research. The conference organizers will select some of the best papers from the conference to be edited and included in a book that will be published afterwards.

Submissions

• Papers in both French and English are welcomed.
• Abstracts should not exceed 200 words and each paper’s content should be encapsulated by 1 to 3 key words.
• Authors should indicate in which panel they would like to speak and they should include a short biography indicating their main publications.

DEADLINE for submitting abstracts: October 9, 2012.

• The scientific committee will announce which abstracts have been accepted no later than October 31, 2012.
• Authors will send a draft of their full paper (not exceeding 8,000 words, including spaces) no later than April 30, 2013.
• Papers can be written in either French or English.
• Please, note that registration for the conference is FREE, but that the organizers will not be able to provide any financial support for participants.

For any further information and for submitting your proposal, please contact the conference coordinator: Dr. Adèle Esposito : adeleesposito@yahoo.fr

Website : http://reseaumap.hypotheses.org

Scientif Committee

• Jean ATTALI  (ACS, UMR AUSser n°3329) ;
• Emmanuel CERISE (Institut des Métiers de la Ville, Hanoi) ;
• Pierre CLEMENT (IPRAUS, UMR AUSser n°3329) ;
• Jeff CODY (Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles) ;
• Adèle ESPOSITO (IPRAUS, UMR AUSser n°3329) ;
• Manuelle FRANCK (Institut National de Langues et Civilisations Orientales, INALCO) ;
• Charles GOLDBLUM (IPRAUS, UMR AUSser n°3329) ;
• Michael HERZFELD (Harvard University, USA) ;
• Victor T. KING (University of Leeds, UK) ;
• Nathalie LANCRET (IPRAUS, directrice de l’UMR AUSser n°3329) ;
• Christian PEDELAHORE DE LODDIS (IPRAUS, UMR AUSser n°3329) ;
• Philippe PEYCAM (International Institute of Asian Studies, IIAS, Leiden) ;
• Karine PEYRONNIE (IRD) ;
• Christian TAILLARD (CASE ;CNRS-EHESS) ;
• Corinne TIRY-ONO (ACS, UMR AUSser n°3329).