Lecturer in Human Geography Dr Jonathan Rock Rokem has been invited to participate in the Knowledge Frontiers Symposium on Urban Violence, to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between March 6th and 8th, 2020. The symposium is jointly organised by the British Academy and Brazilian Academy of Sciences (ABC).
This symposium will explore how the urban across space and time has produced or affected violence, and how violence – and its effects – can shape cities and the experiences of those who inhabit them. It will discuss how disputes over, and interpretations of, history, heritage, culture and/or power can drive and mitigate urban violence, how violence finds expression in or threatens art, and how history, heritage and the arts can be harnessed to counteract or propel the effects of violence.
It will also address the multilayered nature of urban violence, ranging from domestic violence through femicide to the private and public violence of criminals, paramilitaries, police and soldiers, the construction of hierarchies of violence, the interplay between different forms of violence, and the role of social movements, grassroots organisations and other actors seeking to reduce violence and promote accountability.
The meeting will bring together early career researchers from the UK and Brazil from across the humanities and social sciences to discuss key questions around the theme of urban violence.