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International Conference on Education and Urban Transformations: Marginalities and Intersections

Date: 9-11 June 2022

Venue: German Historical Institute London

Concept Note

In its relatively short span of life as a domain of academic inquiry, the discipline of urban studies has developed a research trajectory that is built on diverse theoretical grounds and multidisciplinary perspectives.  From governance to critical geography and from architecture to protest art, the contemporary field of urban studies has expanded considerably.  Over the last three decades, as cities have become plugged into the global imperatives of smart cities/ world-class cities, the measures of zonation, regulated access and securitization have significantly altered the spatial, social and cultural landscapes of the urban.

Scholars in educational studies have also begun to engage with changing urban landscapes. An important outcome of this engagement is a research field at the intersection of education and urban studies. A growing body of scholarship, developed across different geographical locations, has drawn attention to the significance of these disciplinary conversations. First, this new research frames the urban- education dynamic in terms of broad, pluralistic considerations that go beyond exclusively city-centric considerations. Second, it places historical, social and political factors as essential anchors around which the changes in urban and educational terrains can be understood.  Third, a wide range of actors, institutions and practices occupy important positions in the examination of urban issues. Larger questions of mobility, housing, access and quality of schools have become crucial to understand the conditions of living and learning, especially with regard to social and economic marginalities in the urban context. These issues have been part of our research collaboration that was steered by German Historical Institute London through its India Branch Office (now the Max Weber Forum for South Asian Studies, New Delhi), partnering with three Indian institutions (Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi; Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai; and National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru). The collaboration sought to foreground a research agenda connecting questions of education, historical development of urban forms, urban/social restructuring and marginalization among others. The development of a series of working papers and organization of panel discussions, workshops and master classes and building a repository of literature are some of the important ways in which we have taken our collaboration forward.

As a next step of our collective work, we have planned an international conference on 9-11 June 2022. The conference will mark the completion of the current phase of our research collaboration and is expected to provide frameworks for taking our research concerns forward in the future. The conference will bring together international scholars working with broad disciplinary interests to deliberate on the following themes:

  • Nation, citizenship and urban education       
  • Urban restructuring and new marginalities   
  • Resistance, knowledge and pedagogies

The keynote lecture will be delivered by Professor William Pink, Professor Emeritus, Marquette University, USA.  In addition to the thematic sessions, a round table on ‘Covid-19, Urban Lives and Education’ is planned.

Conference convenors

Indra Sengupta, GHIL

Nandini Manjrekar, TISS Mumbai

Geetha B.  Nambissan, JNU Delhi (retd.)

Shivali Tukdeo, NIAS Bengaluru

Sebastian Schwecke, MWF Delhi


OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
mwfdelhi (May 23, 2022). International Conference on Education and Urban Transformations: Marginalities and Intersections. Max Weber Forum for South Asian Studies (MWF Delhi). Retrieved April 25, 2025 from https://doi.org/10.58079/rpsb


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