Extremities: South, East, North, West of Architectural History
The writing of architectural history is always positioned. And whether the viewpoint of its narrative is articulated or not, architectural historiography has traditionally been implicitly drawn from the confluence of such positions. However, over the last few decades, the evidence brought forth to substantiate such narratives – the formal and compositional qualities of buildings, the roles of architects as protagonists in their creation and production, the emphases on particular geographies, chronologies and trajectories of architectural development – have increasingly been called into question by counter-narratives; including decolonisation, indigeneity, social justice, regenerative thinking and ecological sustainability.
Our theme of Extremities takes in part Aggregate’s “interest in evidence and narrative … informed by “historical epistemology,” an approach that insists on asking questions about historical conditions that make knowledge possible in the first place.”[1] This conference’s Call for Proposals asks how the history of architecture is currently being re-investigated from different perspectives, particularly across the Asia-Pacific/Indian Ocean region. How have architectural projects embedded in our complex histories of colonisation, modernity, migration. We seek proposals that interrogate its narratives, the evidence that is provided to substantiate these narratives, and the tools deployed to correlate narrative and evidence. We are interested in how architectural history relates to broader histories of extraction, trade, migration, exploitation, environmental change and assertions of identity across our regions.
With these aspects in mind, the theme of Extremities encourages papers, presentations, workshops and discussions that challenge and critique architectural history from a multiplicity of positions, whether from inside or outside its traditions, The conference will consequently embrace a broad range of inquiries; from focused interrogations of normative assumptions about past objects, to meta critiques of standards and the epistemological grounds of history, and historiography. Papers may call into question the dominant formalism of architectural analysis in relation to socio-cultural or political contexts, or resituate aspects central to the architectural discipline due to such reconsiderations. Sources and prompts for challenge may come from all degrees of the compass, from:
- marginalised regions, histories, and cultures
- extra- and trans-disciplinary positions (planning, archaeology, geography, social sciences, building sciences, media studies, performing arts, etc.)
- practice-led and practice-informed work
- regenerative thinking
- indigenous perspectives
- migratory and diasporic perspectives
- technological and nonhuman biological potentials
- ecological urgencies
- actively oppositional positions
The conference’s siting in lutruwita/Tasmania encourages proposals that relate to conceptions of the global South/geographical South, questions regarding political and intellectual colonisation, the implications of being regional, and agendas of regenerative development. Papers are actively welcomed from across the Asia-Pacific-Indian Ocean region and beyond.
Key Dates
Mon 24 March 2025 Abstracts due
Fri 11 April 2025 Decisions on abstracts released to authors
Mon 28 July 2025 Final Proposals due
Fri 5 Sept 2025 Reviews due for return
Mon 6 Oct 2025 Revised submissions
3-5 Dec 2025 Conference in Launceston
Proposal Options
We invite abstract proposals (200 words) that reflect upon the many possible interpretations of extremity in architectural history. To encourage different methods of engaging with the themes of the conference, proposals in a variety of formats will be considered.
Short-form Paper Presentation (20 minutes presentation + 10 minutes discussion/Q&A)
Short-form Papers will be 1500-2000 words in length, suitable both for immediate conference publication and for later expansion into journal articles.
Long-form Paper Presentation (50 minutes presentation + 10 minutes discussion/Q&A).
Long-form papers will be 4500-5000 words in length.
We strongly encourage proposals for organised sessions in the following formats:
Panel (60-90 minutes including discussion/Q&A) consisting of 3-5 paper presentations. Panel presentations are to be conceived by an Organiser/Chair who will recruit 3 to 5 speakers to present papers on a specific topic. The Organiser should submit an abstract for the proposed Panel.
Roundtable/Workshop (60-90 minutes including discussion/Q&A) Roundtable sessions are to be conceived by an Organiser/Discussant who will recruit 4 to 6 participants to discuss a specific topic. The Organiser should submit an abstract for the proposed Roundtable.
Publication Presentation (5-10 minutes) Authors who wish to present a previously published or forthcoming publication (book, journal article, other) can provide an abstract for this.
We also encourage innovative proposals that will stimulate lively discussions beyond conventional paper presentations, including performances or readings of a creative works, discussions about works-in-progress, or exploratory debates with practitioners, activists, exhibitors, or filmmakers.
Guidelines
Abstracts for all proposal types will be refereed by the Academic Panel.
Full Papers (both short and long form) will be double-blind refereed. Accepted papers will have the option of being published in the conference proceedings. For other forms of proposal, abstracts will be published in the conference proceedings.
One abstract per conference by a sole author or two abstracts with a co-author may be submitted.
References should follow the Chicago Manual of Style, 18th Edition.
Proposals for Papers (short and long form) should include a title and abstract (200 words), contact details and short CV (50 words).
Proposals for Sessions or Roundtables/Workshops should include a title and description of the theme and scope of the Session or Roundtable (300 words), as well as the institutional affiliation (if any), contact details and short CVs (200 words each).
Applications should state clearly (next to the title), whether the proposal is a Session, or a Roundtable/Workshop. Session or Roundtable/Workshop Chairs will need to gather all proposals to be included by the agreed deadline, communicate the list of speakers and titles to the conference organisers, submit abstracts from each speaker to the conference organisers for the proceedings.
All chairs and selected speakers are required to obtain membership of SAHANZ prior to their registration at the conference.
We are committed to diversity and equity. We expect panel submissions to demonstrate diversity in gender,institution, age, background, and academic/professional positions.
While it is preferred that Presentations be given in-person at the conference venue, there will be an online option for presenters who are unable to travel to the conference for financial or visa reasons. We ask those who wish to present online to state their need to do so when submitting their initial proposal.
Convenors
A/Prof David Beynon
Prof Julian Worrall
Dr Andrew Steen
Dr Helen Norrie
The Conference will be held in conjunction with SAUHA (Society of Architectural and Urban Historians Asia) Plenary on 2 December 2025.
Contact
Submit all abstracts and any queries to SAHANZ2025@utas.edu.au
[1] Daniel M. Abramson, Zeynep Çelik Alexender, and Michael Osman, ‘Introduction: Evidence, Narrative and Writing architectural History,’ in Aggregate Architectural History Collaborative, Writing Architectural History: Evidence and Narrative in the Twenty-First Century (London & New York: Routledge, 2021): 4.