DSA Annual Conference 2009 "Contemporary Crises and New Opportunities"

Start Date: 02/09/2009 12:00:00
End Date: 04/09/2009 12:00:00

Category: Conferences

2nd - 4th September 2009

University of Ulster, Coleraine Campus

The year 2009 may well be viewed in future  as a ‘turning point' in the  historical evolution of the world economy. Perhaps the last such ‘turning point' occurred in the 1970s with the demise of the original version of the Bretton Woods system. Living through what many feel are momentous events and historically significant changes there is much to preoccupy us in trying to understand three co-variant sets of crises and their implication for international development.

These 3 sets of crises comprise the organising themes of the conference, each one having its own plenary session:

• Climate Change and Energy (1)
• Global Economic Crisis (2)
• Clashing Values and Lifestyles (3)

The interdisciplinary pursuit of development studies can lay claim to a perspective on these contemporary crises precisely because we have a long established familiarity with the interconnections between them. The forms of globalisation over the last four decades have brought these themes closer together causally. The critique of the limitations of capitalism has to involve resource scarcity, environmental mismanagement and cultural differences about wellbeing and the good life, alongside the delinquency of banks as well as market and regulatory failure.

If we are at some kind of crossroads, then this conference provides an opportunity for a wide range of disciplinary contributions to analysis and understanding. It will be exciting to participate in the exchanges between economic historians, financial analysts, climate change experts and cultural anthropologists and psychologists. The conference can contribute to national and international debates, and lay the basis for future research agendas that combine fresh thinking with prospects for innovative policy.

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