Summer Institute in Economic Geography (2006)

University Of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison WI

Investigators

Abstract

Economic geography has since the 1970s been a restless discipline, in which theoretical orthodoxies and methodological conventions are persistently exposed to searching critique and re-evaluation. While this restlessness has certainly contributed to the dynamism of the sub-discipline, it has also presented particular challenges for junior faculty and young researchers, who must chart a course through a shifting terrain of theoretical, methodological, and substantive concerns without succumbing to faddishness. In addition, there is a pronounced need for professional development experiences, including guidance on publishing, teaching, and research proposal preparation. It is in this context that a multi-year Summer Institute in Economic Geography (SIEG) program was launched in 2003 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with the financial support of the NSF, the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN), the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the journals Economic Geography and Antipode. Open to doctoral students, postdoctoral researchers, and recently appointed faculty (normally within 3 years of tenure-track appointment) from the United States and overseas, the Summer Institute consists of an intensive, week-long residential program of activities designed to provide participants with an in-depth understanding of the innovatory developments and continuing challenges in this fast-moving field. A subsequent SIEG was held at the University of Bristol in 2004, with core support provided by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). NSF support, in 2006, will enable the University of Wisconsin-Madison to host the third Summer Institute in Economic Geography. It will include facilitated discussion groups, field trips, debates and panels, training and skills development modules, and plenary sessions. Featured contributors at the Madison (2006) meeting will be Ash Amin (University of Durham), Meric Gertler (University of Toronto), Victoria Lawson (University of Washington), and Jessie Poon (University of Buffalo-SUNY). The 2006 Madison meeting, as was the case for the two previous institutes, will be designed to occupy an unfilled niche in organizational terms, meeting a need for a relatively small, extended meeting, in which there is extensive opportunity for deliberation, reflection, and sustained discussion. In contrast to the large, professional meetings in Geography, where there is often considerable time pressure and little opportunity for discussion and exchange, the Summer Institute will take advantage of a workshop-style format. By bringing together a group of active young researchers and a small group of internationally renowned faculty, the Summer Institute will make a distinctive contribution to the ongoing development of the sub-discipline, complementing existing graduate training and faculty mentoring programs. The Summer Institute in Economic Geography represents a timely opportunity to establish a new structure for graduate training and professional development in the field of economic geography, oriented to the highest standards of international practice.