Progressive Geographies

A forum on geography and social media in Dialogues in Human Geography.

Only just heard about this major conference on Machiavelli, with a host of interesting speakers including Balibar, Lezra, Montag and Vatter.

Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) is the most important and influential political thinker of the early modern age. Every single political philosopher who comes after him refers to him, either implicitly or explicitly. Every serious politician is, sooner or later, confronted with some of the practical problems Machiavelli addresses. Five hundred years after his death, Machiavelli is ubiquitous but enigmatic: often quoted, but rarely understood, his ideas frequently reduced to a few maxims from The Prince.Written in 1513 but only published after Machiavelli’s death, The Prince is still one of the most controversial and powerful accounts of politics, largely because it speaks of men as they are, not as they ought to be.  It has influenced thinkers from every part of the political continuum.

This celebration of Machiavelli’s seminal work is intended to pay tribute to its influence, 500 years after its writing. The events will both highlight the work’s heritage and show its modernity; The Prince is not a merely of historical interest, but forms the basis of diverse strands of political thought that continue to be highly influential today.  The celebration, to be organized and hosted by Brunel University, will offer the opportunity to examine the book through a variety of lenses.
An international conference will be held at Brunel University on May 29th – May 31st 2013. A mix of world-renowned and younger researchers from a range of fields will be in attendance.

View the programme

This and more at the BBC News site. Thanks to Ben Rosamond for the link.

A map of every street, town, and city Dylan has ever sung about.

Two books by Catherine Malabou are reviewed on the Open Site.