The Urban Space of the Elites
Call for Papers
The Urban History Review / Revue d’histoire urbaine is calling for article proposals for a special issue on “The Urban Space of the Elites,” scheduled for publication in the spring of 2011.
This theme issue is part of a revival of studies on elites. If this group can be defined as including individuals who occupy dominant social positions by virtue of their actual or assumed qualities, the historiography of the last twenty years has demonstrated its heterogeneity, conflicts between its members, and the complex hierarchical relationships that exist within the group, particularly in terms of gender and ethno-cultural background. Similarly, the methods of composition and recomposition of elites have been the subject of a growing number of studies. In short, more and more elites are being studied as a composite and dynamic group whose influence fluctuates considerably over time and space. With this issue we want to specifically address the relationship of this social group to urban areas during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, a period during which urbanization and industrialization, and later exurbanization and deindustrialization, redrew not only the shape of the city but also its social structure and the make-up of its elites. This issue is an invitation to draw upon broad advances in the history of elites to better understand their place in the city.
This special issue of The Urban History Review / Revue d’histoire urbaine will address the following topics in particular:
- The forms and functions of the spaces created or occupied by the urban elite (residential areas, business districts, socio-cultural institutions)
- The means used by elites to ensure the persistence of these areas over time or, conversely, the factors that explain their decline
- The role of urban institutions in the social reproduction and structuring of elites (schools, places of worship, social clubs)
- The use of urban spaces as tools for social advancement and as symbols of the prestige and power of the dominant classes (museums, monuments, parks)
- How elites include and exclude others in the above areas
- The role of economic and political elites in the creation and transformation of urban spaces for the working classes (philanthropy, reformism, city beautification)
- Elite visions of urban space and the city, and the representations of the city that elites convey or appropriate
- These topics are just a few suggested starting points for researchers interested in contributing to this special issue of the Urban History Review / Revue d’histoire urbaine exploring the various ways in which elites exercise power over urban space.
While the Urban History Review / Revue d’histoire urbaine focuses on historical perspectives, interdisciplinary approaches are encouraged. Proposals from the fields of geography, sociology, urban planning and the history of architecture will be considered. Similarly, we are open to proposals on cities in Canada or other countries, or with a comparative dimension.
Schedule
April 30, 2010: deadline for receipt of proposals (250–300 words)
May 15, 2010: notification to authors selected for inclusion
October 31, 2010: deadline for submission of articles ready for peer review
Interested researchers are asked to submit one-page proposals by email to the thematic issue’s editor, Harold Bérubé, before April 30, 2010. Researchers whose proposals are selected for inclusion must submit their article (maximum length of 8,000–10,000 words) for review by October 31, 2010. Please follow the Review’s guidelines available online at:
http://www.urbanhistoryreview.ca/urbanenglish.htm
Please submit your proposals to:
Harold Bérubé, Université de Sherbrooke
harold.berube@usherbrooke.ca
(819) 821-8000, extension 65572