Cycling (dis)connections: researching a (post?) pandemic world
Update: Cycling and Society 2021 will be an online event, taking place on 16th and 17th September. Registration is opening soon.
Day 1 – 16th September 2021 will consist of online sessions during which select panelists discuss research themes relating to video presentations they have submitted in advance and that are available through an online library. This is the approach we took last year and our 2020 panel sessions are available to view.
Day 2 – 17th September 2021 will (subject to confirmation) be hosted at the University of Salford, Greater Manchester and will feature keynote presentations, a tour of cycle infrastructure, and panel discussions. We anticipate that our friends from outside the UK may have difficulties in travelling to attend this second day, and therefore we will be live streaming it and enabling questions and contributions to be made online. In the event that restrictions preclude us running the event in Salford, we will shift it to an online platform.
We plan to host a social event in Greater Manchester. Details of this will follow.
How to contribute
We are inviting people to contribute video presentations. These will be hosted online on the Cycling and Society website in advance of the symposium. The deadline is as follows:
- 25th June – Deadline for short abstracts outlining your planned contribution
- 5th July – Contributions are reviewed and we confirm which presentations are invited to be part of the symposium. We anticipate including most, if not all.
- 27th August – Deadline for video presentations to be submitted
We will then contact you to confirm arrangements and ask for a small fee to cover catering if you are planning to attend Day 2.
A selection of participants will be invited to take part in the online panel sessions. If you are selected,, we will contact you before 30th July and ask you to confirm by the 9th August.
Submitting a contribution
Please submit a short abstract (up to 300 words) by 25th June. The form asks you to provide a title, list any co-presenters, and outline the presentation and format you have in mind.
When planning your contribution please consider:
- The final videos should be up to 15 minutes.
- Think about what themes your contribution will cover and how it can be made relevant to our international audience.
- We will not include videos if they break copyright, are offensive or, even worse, have nothing to do with cycling.
- Talking over slides is fine, and Zoom or Teams recordings are also fine but please do think about creative approaches. Last year we had tours of cycle infrastructure with Go-Pro cameras and video diaries of cycling adventures. Anything that is shared in a video format that can be uploaded on Youtube will be suitable – also please make sure the sound is clear and loud enough.
If you have any questions about the contents or formats of your potential contributions, please free to email us at cyclingandsociety [at] gmail.com
Symposium themes
Cycling and Society welcomes research and commentary from a range of settings and across a diversity of topics and disciplines. As such, we are open to including what you want to talk about. The following are suggestions to get you thinking, and may well be the title of our panels:
- Creating space for cycling: on our streets, in our calendars, in our minds
- Global disruptions and local potholes: how does cycling research respond to Covid-19?
- What’s that e-scooter doing in my cycle lane? Cycling in an age of micromobility
- Beyond the ‘bike’: cycling in a diverse and inclusive society
- Carrying the can: How can cycling take on urban freight?
- Glasgow here we come: Cycling and climate change
- Fast and slow social and cultural cycling changes: disaster, crisis, trauma, “disruptions”; and barriers, blocks, stagnancy and obstacles.
- Cycling beyond the Global North
- Decolonising cycling research: what can we do to bring into value cycling research made in non-hegemonic cycling research locations?
- Cycling and labour: The role of platform working and alternative forms of work
Please also bear in mind our Mission Statement when considering your contributions.