Urban Intersections Working Group
How does the social take shape through urban forms? And how does the urban shape social life? Across millennia, cities have been centres of economic, political and cultural power. The Urban Intersections Working Group explores cities as a compelling lens for locating, observing, critiquing and inspiring dialogues about social practices, values and identities.
The ‘urban’ is, almost by definition, a topic demanding interdisciplinary investigation. The Urban Intersections Working Group takes this interdisciplinary demand seriously, continuing a successful 2020/21 collaboration as an Experimental Collective involving scholars from three of Birkbeck's schools, and seven of its departments. As a working group, Urban Intersections will expand and consolidate the diverse constituencies interested in urban issues and research at Birkbeck, including scholars and students. Our aim is to establish uniquely interdisciplinary urban research grouping amongst London-based universities, with the potential to evolve into a permanent research centre.
Members
- Dr Mari Paz Balibrea, Reader in Spanish Cultural Studies, Department of Languages, Cultures and Applied Linguistics
- Claire Davies, PhD student, Department of Languages, Cultures and Applied Linguistics,
- Professor Matthew Davies, Executive Dean, Professor of Urban History, School of Social Sciences, History and Philosophy
- Dr Ben Gidley, Senior Lecturer in Psychosocial Studies, Assistant Dean for Recruitment (SSHP), Department of Psychosocial Studies
- Dr Sarah Keenan, Reader in Law, Department of Law
- Dr Jackie Jia Lou, Senior Lecturer in Sociolinguistics, Department of Languages, Cultures and Applied Linguistics
- Henry Mulhall, PhD student, Department of Film, Media and Cultural Studies
- Dr Mara Nogueira, Lecturer in Urban Geography, Programme Director MA/MSc Cities, Department of Geography
- Dr Scott Rodgers (Working Group lead), Reader in Media and Geography, Department of Film, Media and Cultural Studies
- Sara Rodriguez, PhD student, Department of Geography
Events
Events organised by the Urban Intersections Working Group are included in the BISR events programme.
Past event highlights:
- Digital Extremism and the City (14 July 2020)
- Race, Policing and the City (1 December 2020)
- Transient Barcelona: Tourists and Global Gentrifiers in the Creative City (17 March 2021)
- Social Media and/as Urban Research (30 March 2021)
- Social Media as an Urban Question (10 May 2021)
- The Way We Live: Community Activation Through Film (11 June 2021)
- Predictive Cities (online exhibition and colloquium with Manu Luksch, 1 July 2021)
Contact
For more information or to join the Urban Intersections Working Group, please contact Scott Rodgers.