Call for participants for the 5th ‘Governance at the edge of the state’ summerschool, with special theme Materiality (11-14 September 2018).
The Conflict Research Group at Ghent University, together with the Department of Geography (University of Zürich) the Department of Food and Resource Economics (University of Copenhagen), and the Department of Urban and Rural Development (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences) organizes a four-day PhD course at Ghent University on 11-14 September 2018 with the title Governance at the ‘edge’ of the state? Resources-Materiality-Governance. This course is the fifth in a series of summer schools that explore multiple forms of governance at the edge of the state. This year’s edition will specifically focus on materiality as an entry point into discussions of resource politics and governance.
The study of materiality has the potential to enrich this discussion and will provide the central theme of this year’s summer school. With “materiality” we refer broadly speaking to the different social science approaches who have taken the study of non-human entities (objects, things, animals, plants, etc.) seriously in their effort to make sense of society by focusing on their relational qualities that push us to problematize simple subject-object distinctions. In this summer school we specifically want to connect these discussions to the study of resource politics and governance to better understand how e.g. the material qualities of resources shape not only extractive processes, but can also mediate politics and conflict or how the materiality of governance—including e.g. bureaucracy or rebel governance—can mediate relations between ruler and ruled.
More info about the summerschool, the faculty as well as practicalities you can find here.
POLLEN 