Power & Difference. 3rd International Conference, Tampere, 27-29 August 2012

Inspired by the great success of the Second International Conference on Power & Knowledge held on 6-8 September 2010, we carry on probing questions of power. This year the conference will concentrate on linkages between power and difference.

Divide et impera, said the ancient Romans, a maxim that exemplifies one of the ways in which power is entangled with difference. Small privileges allotted to subgroups prevent resistance against the rule by dividing the subjects, and similarly, treating units such as nation-states as separate, unique entities prevents us from realizing global structures and trends. On the other hand, aiming at equality, and hence at unity, is hardly possible without identifying the injustice related to differences such as age, class, ethnicity, or gender. Furthermore, from an epistemological perspective, the concepts we use are tools to simplify and standardize reality into a manageable number of categories relevant from the viewpoint of governance and control. These and many other linkages between power and difference will be tackled in this biennial conference now to be organized for the third time.

Keynote speakers will include:

Lisa Adkins, University of Newcastle, Australia
Leena Alanen, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Karen Armstrong, University of Helsinki, Finland
Colin Bennett, University of Victoria, Canada
Laura Huttunen, University of Tampere, Finland
Jan Nederveen Pieterse, University of California Santa Barbara, USA
Göran Therborn, University of Cambridge, UK
George Thomas, Arizona State University, USA

CALL FOR  PAPERS IS NOW OPEN! (.pdf)

To propose a paper, please submit an abstract (150–200 words) through the conference management system www.paredix.com/ocs/index.php/Power2012/conf/login/ on 15 June 2012 at the latest.

For more information, contact the organizing committee at power2012@uta.fi.

PREVIOUS POWER CONFERENCES:

Power: Forms, Dynamics and Consequenses (2008)

Power & Knowledge (2010)