The 18th Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of Traditional Environments (IASTE), Virtual Traditions: The Transience of Tradition in Changing Geographies and Global Landscapes, has put out a call for Paper and Poster Abstracts that support any of the three tracks within the conference theme:
- Theorizing the Virtual and the Traditional in the Built Environment
- The Socio-Spatial Traditions of Everyday Life in Changing Landscapes
- Tradition, Space, and Professional Practice in the Built Environment at Times of Transition
In their description of the conference theme, the organizers argue, “With the predominance of mobile communication, social media, and online interaction, the terms “virtual” and “tradition” are no longer at opposite ends of cultural discourse, as they seemed to be a decade ago. Virtual space is developing socio-cultural norms that dictate everyday life, while built environments adapt to virtual events, spaces, and gatherings. IASTE 2020 Nottingham will explore how the mutual influences between the virtual and the traditional reconfigure new structures of communities, societies, and cities — extending and connecting built spaces. In an era defined by social media and online interaction, new agents manipulate traditions, values, myths, borders, and even the legitimacy of the built environment in virtual space. Scientific innovation, data-mining, algorithms, and spatial and digital modeling have thus led to new methods of interpretation and mechanisms of decision-making that force a reconsideration of the link between buildings and people, culture and its consumers.”
To read details about the conference theme and its three tracks, visit IASTE 2020: Virtual Traditions. The conference will be held on September 3-6, 2020 at Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK. Deadline for Abstract Submission: October 18, 2019.