News and Notices
News and Notices from the VAG and other groups or organisations.
Call for Papers for VAF 2011 Annual Meeting in Falmouth, Jamaica
The Vernacular Architecture Forum invites paper proposals for its Annual Meeting in Falmouth, Jamaica, 31 May - 4 June 2011. Papers may address vernacular and everyday buildings, sites, or cultural landscapes worldwide. Submissions on all vernacular topics are welcome, but we encourage papers that explore topics related to the conference themes of heritage tourism as the new colonialism; climate and vernacular design; creolization, hybridity, acculturation and other models for cultural engagement; and race, slavery, and place. Papers should be twenty minutes in length, although proposals for complete sessions, roundtable discussions, or other innovative means that facilitate scholarly discourse are also welcome.
Proposals must be one-page, fewer than 400 words, and include paper title, author's name, and email address. Please state clearly the argument of the paper and explain the methodology and content. Papers should be theoretical or analytical in nature, rather than descriptive. Attach a one-page CV to your proposal submission. The deadline for proposals is 13 September 2010.
Presenters must deliver their papers in person and be VAF members at the time of the conference. Speakers who do not register for the conference by 1 April 2010 will be withdrawn. Please do not submit an abstract if you are not committed to attending the papers session on 4 June. Presenter Fellowships to offset registration costs are available to students and recent graduates. For more information on Presenter Fellowships see http://www.vafweb.org/awards/presenter.html.
Electronic submissions of proposals and CVs in Word format are preferred. Please send email proposals to Andrew Dolkart at asd3@columbia.edu, or hard copies to Andrew Dolkart, Columbia University School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, 413 Avery Hall, New York, NY 10027, USA.
For general information about the Jamaica meeting contact Louis Nelson at ln6n@virginia.edu.
A word about the cost of the Jamaica conference. The cost of this conference will be similar to that of recent VAF conferences. Registration will be $150, with the Friday tour and an optional Sunday tour costing $125 each. The conference will be held at a resort costing approximately $450.00 for five nights, including all meals, drinks, and resort activities. Check for airfares flying into Montego Bay (do NOT fly into Kingston).
August 2010
"Built from Below: British Architecture and the Vernacular"
Edited by Peter GuilleryA new book due for publication in August 2010.
The essays that form this book arise from papers that were presented at the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain's annual symposium for 2008, which was convened in association with the Vernacular Architecture Group to explore ways of thinking about relationships between vernacular studies and architectural history in British contexts. In combination they present a fresh perspective on the history of British architecture.
The book (following J M Richards) is about 'castles on the ground', about how architectural design, even that of great monuments, emerges from ordinary collective practices and attitudes, from society, as much as from individual design intentions. Bridging the separation between architectural history and vernacular studies, a disciplinary divide peculiar to Britain that has tended to stand in the way of synthesis, the book aims to provoke thoughts and debate about, and provide templates for, more ethnographic and democratic approaches to British architectural history. The volume has been edited by Peter Guillery and has contributions from Laurie Smith, P S Barnwell, Elizabeth McKellar, Anne-Marie Akehurst, Esmé Whittaker, Andrew Ballantyne and Andrew Law, Erdem Erten, Miles Glendinning and Frances Holliss.
Routledge is offering VAG members Built from Below: British Architecture and the Vernacular at a 20% online-only discount. Go to www.routledge.com and at the checkout enter voucher code SAHBFB10 to obtain your discount. Offer valid on both hardback (normal price £95) and paperback (normal price £29.99) versions until 31 December 2010.
July 2010
