AusMob Symposium 2021

Transforming Mobilities

6-7 December 2021, via Zoom

We’re thrilled to invite you to join our symposium later in the year! The event is free of charge and will take place virtually on Monday 6th and Tuesday 7th December 2021.

Keynote presentations

Weiqiang Lin • Department of Geography, National University of Singapore, Singapore

Fran Martin • School of Culture & Communication, The University of Melbourne, Australia

Rashmi Sadana • Department of Sociology & Anthropology, George Mason University, USA

The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed mobilities in Australasia, Southeast Asia and globally. Restrictions on movement have changed migration possibilities; where and how work takes place; where people wish to live; what kinds of holidays people take; how people relate to their neighbourhoods; how communities organise collective action; and much more. Restrictions on movement have given rise to new bodily practices, new understandings of self and other, and altered social dynamics at various scales. Restrictions have also led to the emergence of new inequalities and exacerbated longstanding inequities. Understanding how mobility transformations are reshaping people and place has arguably never been so important. 

This virtual symposium showcases state-of-the-art research on the broad theme of mobility transformation. The symposium features postgraduate researchers, early career researchers and more established scholars on many aspects of mobilities research from across the social sciences and humanities. Each of the papers develops the theme of mobility transformations in diverse ways, including in terms of sense-making, bodies, practices, technologies, logistics, finance, policies, environments and artistic expressions. Mobility transformations are understood through diverse sites, including cities, rural and regional areas, workplaces, households and public space.

Excitingly, this is a truly international symposium. Our presenters hail from Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, India, Vietnam, Israel, Estonia, Finland, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Denmark, Belgium, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In addition to our exciting line-up of papers, we are thrilled to welcome our keynote presenters, Rashmi Sadana, Fran Martin, and Weiqiang Lin, some of the most prominent international scholars who are shaping the agenda of mobilities research. 

We look forward to welcoming you to the event in December!

The AusMob Committee

David Bissell, Thomas Birtchnell, Michelle Duffy, Farida Fozdar, Benjamin Iaquinto, David Radford and Lauren Rickards