Global Cultures of Contestation
International Conference
Organised by the Amsterdam Centre for Globalisation Studies
University of Amsterdam
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
15 & 16 October 2015

Keynote Speakers: Paul Gilroy, Zeynep Tufekci (TBC), Robin Celikates &
Thomas Poell

From the popular uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa in early
2011, via the Spanish indignados, the Occupy movement and the Gezi Park
protests, to the Umbrella movement in Hong Kong and the New
University/Rethink UvA in Amsterdam, over the past years different parts of
the world have seen major forms of popular contestation. This
conference—organised by the Amsterdam Centre for Globalisation
Studies—examines this global wave of protest, characterised by the
occupation of squares, streets and buildings—a diversity of tactics
prominently involving online communication and emerging new political
imaginaries. Particularly striking is that these protests have not been
initiated or directed by traditional social movement organisations, but
appear to be spontaneous political movements ‘from below.’ Yet, while these
instances of popular contestation have been celebrated for their
mobilisations, their creativity and their innovative use of social media,
their long-term efficacy has been called into question. So far, this debate
has primarily focused on the political and social consequences of the
protests. For this conference, we would like to invite scholars from around
the globe to expand the debate by critically reflecting on the cultural
dimensions of contemporary forms of popular contestation.

We are especially interested in research that examines emerging global
cultures of contestation from one of the following perspectives (following
the four research programs at the ACGS; see
http://acgs.uva.nl/research/programmes/programmes.html):
1. Reflecting on questions of mobility: how the protests challenge and
transform cultural boundaries, as well as established understandings of
security, belonging and home? And what form of mobility is implied in the
global spread of these protests?
2. How are issues of sustainability addressed? In what ways are the
precarity of labor, ecological degradation and the preservation of objects
of cultural and historical value put on the agenda? And to what extent are
the protests themselves sustainable as effective forms of contestation?
3. What are the aesthetics of contemporary protest movements? In this
context, we welcome explorations of the global circulation and proliferation
of new imaginaries (including their linguistic, visual and acoustic
manifestations), as well as of how these new imaginaries challenge and/or
reproduce dominant cultural regimes.
4. What are the connective platforms that facilitate and structure today’s
protest communication and mobilisation? How do these platforms not only
enable contestation, but also shape its focus and dynamics?

Please send an abstract (200-300 words) and short bio (max. 100 words) by 1
June 2015 to Amani Maihoub (E: acgs-fgw@uva.nl). In your abstract, indicate
for which of the four streams—mobility, sustainability, aesthetics or
connectivity—you would like to be considered. Notice of acceptance will be
given by 1 July 2015.