Lecture abstract
Geography and urban studies have long recognized and theorized the importance of urbanization and location economies. There is a rich history of eulogizing the city and for many years policy and theory have taught us that innovation, creativity, trust, productivity and competitiveness are largely reliant on the interaction and proximity found in urban areas.
This rhetoric has been particularly strong in relation to the production of culture. To understand artistic creativity, we look to renaissance Florence, to fin de secle Paris, to post-War New York; to understand music we look to Vienna, to Liverpool, to Nashville; to understand fashion we look to Paris and Milan.
In this lecture we look at the urban bias in studies of cultural creativity and production in order to celebrate the role of the urban as well as to contribute to a growing body of theory and empirics that attempt to nuance and challenge this orthodoxy.
About the speaker
Dominic Power is a human geographer primarily concerned with the interrelations between culture and economy, and the economic geography of innovation, entrepreneurship and contemporary economic change. Much of his work has concerned cultural and creative industries and the cultural economy. This involves research both on the general parameters of the cultural industries and economy and sector-specific research on the music, design and fashion industries.
His work is motivated not only by an interest in the spatial dynamics of these industries but also an interest in how the conditions for their success and innovation are wound into evolving global and digital flows and chains. He is deeply concerned with how these activities are anchored in, and affect, regional economies and has been actively engaged not only in academic research but also research for urban and regional policy. Dominic is currently a professor of human geography at Stockholm University in Sweden.
The talk will be introduced and moderated by Professor Michael Gentile from the Department of Sociology and Human Geography at UiO.
Coffee and light snacks will be served.
The event is free and open for all, but please register in advance here.