The Vernacular Architecture
Forum (VAF) invites paper proposals for its Annual Meeting in Chicago,
Illinois, June 3-7, 2015.
Iconic tall buildings are Chicago’s hallmark, yet it is the bungalow
belts, bascule bridges, and “L” train lines that beckon vernacular analysis.
Chicago is a network of neighborhoods with ubiquitous building forms, but a
closer analysis reveals constant change and a diverse tapestry of communities
frayed by the legacies of segregation. For the 2015 conference, the theme Neighborhoods in Transition will guide
VAF as we go “Out of the Loop” and into the city’s vast grid to reflect on the regeneration
or dissolution of community. Buildings, streetscapes, and neighborhoods will be
VAF’s point of departure for its investigation of Chicago’s spatial and social
patterns, material evidence and existential boundaries, and communal and
cultural identities.
Papers for VAF Chicago may address vernacular and everyday
buildings, sites, or cultural landscapes worldwide. Submissions on all vernacular
topics are welcome, and for the 2015 Conference, we encourage papers that ask
questions of the built environment and engineered ecologies for which Chicago
represents a seminal model or serves as case study for trends occurring
nationally and internationally. Trends include those in the architectural and
building trades, in industrial and commercial sectors and for the workers in
those arenas, in urban and city planning, and in models for societal
restructuring that include urban renewal, relocation, and public housing.
Submitting an
Abstract
Papers should be analytical rather than descriptive, and no
more than twenty-minutes in length.
Proposals for complete sessions, roundtable discussions or other
innovative means that facilitate scholarly discourse are especially encouraged.
Proposals must be one-page, fewer than 400 words, and include the paper title,
author’s name, and email address. You may include up to two images with your
submission. Please clearly state the argument of the paper and explain the
methodology and content. Attach a one-page CV to your proposal submission.
Presenters must deliver their papers in person and be VAF members
at the time of the conference. Speakers who do not register for the conference
by March 1, 2015, will be withdrawn. Please do not submit an abstract if you
are not committed to attending the papers session on Saturday, June 6th.
There may be limited financial assistance, in the form of Pamela H. Simpson
Presenter’s Fellowships, to offset registration costs to students and recent
graduates.
The deadline for
proposals is November 1, 2014, and submissions should be emailed to the VAF
Papers Committee Chair at papers@vafweb.org.
For general information about the Chicago conference, please see www.vafchicago.org.
