Conference Review
The Culture Project: New Approaches to the Study of Cultural Practices
13 March - 15 March 2009
In
collaboration with CRASSH, this conference brought together members of
the international research group, NYLON, to present their research on a
variety of themes, including: Modeling Practice in Medicine; Creating
Images of Urban Space; Identity through Practice; Power and Theory of
Economic Practices; and Mapping Discourses and Behaviours.
The conference was convened by Richard Sennett (New York University/ Visiting Fellow, Trinity College, Cambridge), Craig Calhoun (New York University/President, Social Science Research Council), Vic Seidler (Goldsmiths, University of London/Professor of Sociology) and Nick Couldry (Goldsmiths, University of London/Professor of Media and Communications), and featured the work and commentary of young scholars from several New York, London and Cambridge- based universities.
NYLON was created in 2001 by Craig Calhoun and Richard Sennett of New York University. It began as a network of young scholars within the two institutions and collaboration between them. Today, NYLON has expanded beyond its original boundaries; it now includes members from Cambridge and Oxford in the U.K.; from Chicago and Los Angeles in the U.S.; and on the Continent from Paris, Budapest and Hamburg. NYLON researchers share a broad interest in culture and qualitative research methods; more, with ways that social processes turn into concrete cultural forms through practical activity. We are thus exploring informal, improvised social practices, as well as the bones of institutions; again, we try to integrate cultural analysis with an understanding of politics and political economy.
NYLON hosts weekly workshops in London and New York, in which members present everything from raw ethnographic data to draft journal articles to book proposals. The group also convenes annually for a conference that brings together members from across the global network. These joint conferences provide an intensive working environment in which participants are encouraged to engage collectively in the constructive critique of members' works in progress. Participants have consistently found it illuminating to discover the differences in style, assumptions, and intellectual sensibilities across multiple social science disciplines and national intellectual traditions - even where broad orientations are similar.
CRASSH was an ideal setting for our 2009 meeting, by providing an intimate space for our conference proceedings, excellent organizing and logistical assistance as well as the intellectually stimulating backdrop of Cambridge itself. The group had the opportunity to explore Cambridge through a historic walking tour with Jeanette Luckhurst, which was enjoyed by all who participated. The discussions generated in the conference sessions themselves overflowed into several social events, including a lengthy dinner at Carluccio's, a cocktail reception and private viewing at the Fitzwilliam Museum and a Traditional Cambridge College Dinner at in the Old Library of Pembroke College. One conference participant described the conference as "inspiring, welcoming, fascinating".
The conference was convened by Richard Sennett (New York University/ Visiting Fellow, Trinity College, Cambridge), Craig Calhoun (New York University/President, Social Science Research Council), Vic Seidler (Goldsmiths, University of London/Professor of Sociology) and Nick Couldry (Goldsmiths, University of London/Professor of Media and Communications), and featured the work and commentary of young scholars from several New York, London and Cambridge- based universities.
NYLON was created in 2001 by Craig Calhoun and Richard Sennett of New York University. It began as a network of young scholars within the two institutions and collaboration between them. Today, NYLON has expanded beyond its original boundaries; it now includes members from Cambridge and Oxford in the U.K.; from Chicago and Los Angeles in the U.S.; and on the Continent from Paris, Budapest and Hamburg. NYLON researchers share a broad interest in culture and qualitative research methods; more, with ways that social processes turn into concrete cultural forms through practical activity. We are thus exploring informal, improvised social practices, as well as the bones of institutions; again, we try to integrate cultural analysis with an understanding of politics and political economy.
NYLON hosts weekly workshops in London and New York, in which members present everything from raw ethnographic data to draft journal articles to book proposals. The group also convenes annually for a conference that brings together members from across the global network. These joint conferences provide an intensive working environment in which participants are encouraged to engage collectively in the constructive critique of members' works in progress. Participants have consistently found it illuminating to discover the differences in style, assumptions, and intellectual sensibilities across multiple social science disciplines and national intellectual traditions - even where broad orientations are similar.
CRASSH was an ideal setting for our 2009 meeting, by providing an intimate space for our conference proceedings, excellent organizing and logistical assistance as well as the intellectually stimulating backdrop of Cambridge itself. The group had the opportunity to explore Cambridge through a historic walking tour with Jeanette Luckhurst, which was enjoyed by all who participated. The discussions generated in the conference sessions themselves overflowed into several social events, including a lengthy dinner at Carluccio's, a cocktail reception and private viewing at the Fitzwilliam Museum and a Traditional Cambridge College Dinner at in the Old Library of Pembroke College. One conference participant described the conference as "inspiring, welcoming, fascinating".
Ruth Braunstein | Doctoral Student
Department of Sociology | New York University
