Sprawl
Society for Photographic Education

46th National Conference
March 26-29, 2009 – Dallas, TX

Call for Proposal Submissions
POSTMARK DEADLINE: JUNE 2, 2008

The Society for Photographic Education is seeking conference proposal applications for imagemaker, panel, lecture, demonstration, graduate student and Academic Practicum Workshop presentations for the 2009 National Conference in Dallas, TX. SPE welcomes proposals from all photographers, writers, educators, curators, historians and professionals from other fields. Topics may include, but are not limited to, imagemaking, history, contemporary theory and criticism, multidisciplinary approaches, new technologies, effects of media and culture, educational issues, funding and presentations of work in photography, film, video, performance and installation.

Cultural depictions of sprawl have long been a mainstay in popular culture, including the 1970s photo movement New Topographics, William Gibson’s cyberpunk fiction, the music of Sonic Youth, and in TV shows, such as “Weeds,” with its ‘burb’-inspired theme song “Little Boxes.” Sprawl-suburban landscape and life-serves as both cultural inspiration and critique. The organizers of the 2009 SPE National Conference invite proposal submissions illuminating the visual and cultural complexities of Sprawl as a defining concept and reality of our twenty-first century public experience.

The city of Dallas provides an informative and imaginative backdrop for the conference theme. Like other metropolitan areas since the 1960s, Dallas has seen suburban sprawl reshape its civic geography and identity. Sprawl then is a physical manifestation of civic growth and population migration, housing developments and ‘big-box’ retail parks. But the concept of sprawl also prompts discussions of environmental conservation, the appropriate use of land and resources, the loss and/or renewal of city centers and close-knit neighborhood communities.

The conference, Sprawl, will take place March 26-29, 2009 in Dallas, TX. Proposals must be postmarked by JUNE 2, 2008. For more information, please find the PDF proposal form attached or on the SPE website: www.spenational.org.

Contact: SPE National Office
speoffice@spenational.org
216/622-2733 ph
216/622-2712 fx
www.spenational.org