[csaa-forum] #place - a new discussion on location and cultural politics

[Danny Butt]

Greetings all - a new list some of you may be interested in - while 
there is some crossover with csaa I think there will be a lot of 
non-CS-specific dialogue as well, so hopefully it will be 
complementary.
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PLEASE DISTRIBUTE

#place is a new discussion on location, cultural politics, and social 
technologies. To join in, visit:

http://www.place.net.nz

Topics covered on #place include, but are not limited to:

* The politics of intercultural communication
* Colonisation, cultural nationalism, 'intranationalism' (e.g. 
indigenous sovereignty)
* Regional alliances, globalisation and cultural politics
* Sociology of the knowledge economy
* The mediated experience of physical, social, economic and cultural 
locations
* Cultural uses of land and geography (particularly in colonial 
situations)
* Activism through local, regional and global networks
* The "places" of intellectual work
* Collaborative practices and located positions
* The uneven distribution of information

:::::::  Why #place? :::::::

Location, position, situation and place have become increasingly common 
terms in comparative discussions of knowledge and culture.

Many institutions shaping the Western educational and political systems 
have claimed the betterment of "humankind" as their goal. The 
University in particular framed its contributions as adding to 
"humanity's stock of knowledge". Where exactly that knowledge came 
from, or went to, was seen to be unimportant. But the beneficiaries of 
this "knowledge economy", from a sociological perspective, turn out to 
be a select few, and Western ideologies tend to suppress these politics 
of intellectual labour. As David Turnbull puts it, in a culture that 
prefers the abstract over the concrete, "knowledge has to be presented 
as unbiased and undistorted, without a place or knower." Sharon Traweek 
calls this knowledge system "the culture of no culture", the desire to 
be beyond cultural location.

However, recent social movements can be seen as calls to put knowledge 
in its place. Increasingly, the West has been challenged on its habit 
of defining "the world" in its own image.  Anti-colonial scholars such 
as Linda Tuhiwai Smith have demonstrated that knowledge and research 
have been central  to the process of colonisation. The gains from 
knowledge production supposedly "for human benefit" have been largely 
hidden from indigenous groups, yet all too beneficial for the purposes 
of colonial power.

While the colonial project has harnessed communications technologies in 
service of its imperial aims, these communications networks are also 
fostering new collaborative practices which resist the imperial 
worldview. Media networks promise standardisation, but these networks 
are also allowing people in different "places" (physical, economic, 
social, cultural) to share perspectives and strategies for resistance, 
while developing their own sense of place.

The initial aim of #place is to collaboratively develop dialogue around 
these issues, share experiences and insights, and ultimately connect 
people working on related problems of location and cultural politics. 
This aim reflects my experience that people are discussing these issues 
between numerous cultures and knowledge traditions, but without a place 
that explicitly reflects on that connection. This aim is only a 
beginning, however, and the future aims of #place will be determined by 
those who join and participate. #place aims to bring many places into 
conversation.

By the end of 2004 a collective will be established from contributors 
to guide #place's development. Possibilities for #place in 2005 include 
meetings, conferences, publications, and alliances with other groups.

To join #place visit

=> http://www.place.net.nz

or send an e-mail to: place-request at place.net.nz
with the word "subscribe" (without the quotes) in the Subject field, 
and follow the instructions you get sent.

#place has been launched by Danny Butt - http://www.dannybutt.net
as part of the Intranation residency at Banff Centre for the Arts - 
http://www.intranation.net