"Approaches to Social Theory and the Culture of the City", York University, March 10, 2003

A discussion at York University, Monday, March 10, 2003, 11:30 am ET

This talk was posted as a York University event:

This digest was created in real-time during the meeting, based on the speaker's presentation(s) and comments from the audience. These should not be viewed as official transcripts of the meeting, but only as an interpretation by a single individual. Lapses, grammatical errors, and typing mistakes may not have been corrected. Questions about content should be directed to the originator. These notes have been contributed by David Ing (daviding@systemicbusiness.org) at the IBM Advanced Business Institute ( http://www.ibm.com/abi ).

A panel discussion, introduced by Lorna, director of the program

Alan introducing the panel

Evolution of interests:  a narcissistic literary exercise.

How it stimulates the project

The Culture of Cities project

Panel participants:

Alan Blum:

Began to be influenced by some philosophers

Could imagine Wittgenstein and Heidegger recommending the same lecture in two different ways.

So, whatever we're studying (rent disputes, waterfronts), our topic is contestation over fundamental social problems

Interest became not in solving problems, but disclosing them

Eventually will become a book

Not an urbanist.

Published a special issue of "Public" on scenes

Book will be on Toronto, but it's actually broader.

Paul Moore should be introduced:

[Paul]

Stefka:  Eastern Europe

[Alan]

Stefka:

[Alan]

[Tara]

The relationship between public space and the city.

[Alan]

Anja can't speak, lost her voice in New York

Saeed can talk about the Center

[Saeed]

Friday afternoon speaker series (try to have them every 2 weeks), from e-mail list

A film project that is going on

[Alan]

Didn't know were doing these films

[Mervyn Horgan]

Used to want to be a psychologist

Celtic Tiger:  Ireland's booms

Proposed building of a conference building on Dublin's docklands

At the moment, using the built environment to study different processes

[Alan]

[Kieran]

Did Masters and Ph.D. at York U., only back twice since 1987

Recent issue of Canadian Journal of Urban Research

Embraces many disciplines, has an interpretative center

Trajectory of the own biography

[Discussion]

Panel on Urban Ethnography, March 28 will give a different perspective.

Cinema in cities:

Survey work at the U. of Pennsylvania

Views of the city from the inside, and the outside?

The structure of cinemas:  Cineplex

Choice of cities?  Why not New York?