CFP: Architecture, Institutions and Change: The 32nd Annual Conference of the Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand

Architecture, Institutions and Change: The 32nd Annual Conference of the Society of Architectural
Historians, Australia and New Zealand (SAHANZ)
Hosted by the Faculty of Built Environment, UNSW Australia, Sydney, Australia, 7-10 July, 2015
Call for papers: Abstracts due 6 October 2014
During the 1960s and 1970s, the probity and relevance of the institutional model in most areas of
life were called into question. Of particular significance were Michel Foucault’s studies of forms of
institutionalised care and organised supervision which he associated with the exercise of dominance,
surveillance and control – famously represented in physical form by the Panopticon (Discipline and
Punish, 1975). While alternative models were and have been sought, few institutions were totally
disassembled or abandoned. In fact, many of those that weathered the storm, especially within the
financial sector, appear to have become larger, more dominant and more powerful.
Recent scrutiny of the abuses of power by religious clergy, politicians and corporate bodies has
however lent impetus to the ongoing historical and theoretical investigation of institutions and how
they operate. Old concepts such as ideology and the agency-structure dialectic continue to inform
discussion, as does the consideration of new forces such as the internet which has complicated our
conception of the social domain.
It is timely therefore to renew the discussion of the role and status of architecture in its relationship
to the institutional realm, especially around questions of change and transformation. What ideals,
principles and values have underpinned the architecture of institutional organisations and
constructions in the past and have these changed in recent times? How has the role of architecture
in the consolidation and exercise of institutionalised power and authority changed? What role can
architecture play in the reconceptualisation of institutions? As was the case with Foucault, there will
be conceptions of historical continuity and discontinuity as well as historical method that need to be
considered.
The 32nd Annual SAHANZ Conference to be held in Sydney in July 2015 will be devoted to the
exploration of architecture and institutions. Papers are invited that examine and reflect on various
aspects and examples of this theme within different cultural contexts. There are many ways that this
can be approached through a focus on the history of institutional building types and collectives,
organisations, practices, customs, pedagogy and critique as suggested by the following sub-themes:
• Architecture and large institutional complexes, for example, architecture and the State,
architecture and religious organisations
• Building types and building collectives, for example, educational buildings, hospitals, prisons,
government buildings, art galleries, university campuses, military campuses, sacred buildings
• Professional organisations, for example, institutes of architects and their history
• The history of architectural and design education
• Intellectual and disciplinary histories, including architectural history and its institutional
underpinnings
• Architecture and the concept of the public good 2
• The reform and/or reconceptualisation of the institution and its implications for architecture
• Alternatives to the institutional model
• The anti-institutional, for example, the counter-cultural movements of the 1960s and 1970s
Abstract submission
Abstracts of no more than 300 words should be submitted via the Online Conference Paper
Management website at http://www.ocpms.com.au/conference-papers/login.php?confID=37. You will need to create a Login ID and password to allow secure uploading of your abstract.
Abstracts will be blind reviewed by at least two members of the Conference Academic
Committee. External referees may be called upon to review an abstract if needed. Papers will be
double blind peer reviewed and those accepted for presentation at the conference will be
published on the conference website, with print-on-demand editions of the full conference
proceedings available after the conference at additional cost.
Please note that in addition to a sole-authored proposal, a participant may also be named on a
second, co-authored submission. Irrespective of who would deliver the latter paper, if accepted
for presentation and publication, each author is required to register to attend the conference.
Work submitted for review and for publication in the conference proceedings should be original
research that has not previously been published elsewhere, or work that has undergone
substantial development from a prior publication.
Abstracts due: 6 October 2014
Abstract acceptances sent out: 17 October 2014
Papers due for refereeing: 30 January 2015
Final papers due: 1 May 2015
Conference: 7-10 July 2015
Conference convenors: Dr Paul Hogben (PaulH@fbe.unsw.edu.au) and Dr Judith O’Callaghan (JudithO@fbe.unsw.edu.au)
 
Source: http://www.sahanz.net/conferences/cfp2015.pdf