ANNOUNCEMENT AND CALL FOR PAPERS         

In the apt setting of Liverpool during its year as European Capital of Culture, the 2008 Leisure Studies Association Conference seeks to appeal to a wide audience of academics, researchers and practitioners. The conference themes offer participants an opportunity for engagement with, analysis and critique of key current issues salient to a broad range of concerns in leisure studies. The conference is open to LSA Members and non-members. Contact the conference organising team at LSA2008@ljmu.ac.uk to submit your proposal, register interest or request further information.

SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

Please e-mail your proposal as early as possible to the Conference Committee at LSA2008@ljmu.ac.uk Submissions will continue to be considered subject to the availability of appropriate space on the programme. Please submit according to Guidelines for Proposals

CONFERENCE THEMES -- proposals are invited on the following main themes

Capitalising on culture	This theme is embedded in the wider discourse of the use of the cultural industries for regeneration purposes in the so-called 'post-industrial' world, and to that end, invites cross-cultural comparisons. The central premise of the theme lies in an examination of the role of the cultural industries, their relation to leisure and tourism and ideas and practices of regeneration. Specifically, the theme wishes to address the dynamic between the cultural industries and their appropriation for regeneration purposes; the politics of 'trading' on and with culture; and socially embedded practices of place and memory, for example psychogeographies of leisure and tourism. Theme Leader: Dr. Hazel Andrews	Keynote speaker: Dr. Gaynor Bagnall
Substance or surface? Sustainability in leisure and tourism	The appearance and the image of a locality may change with regeneration but who are the beneficiaries? This theme will examine how regeneration initiatives impact the lives of ordinary residents, and how the 'worth' of different cultures might be decided. Is place marketing and the cultural industries appropriating cultures to produce a place product? Is the quality of life of residents being improved? This theme addresses issues of belonging and inclusiveness, identity and the winners and losers of place marketing and regeneration. Theme Leader: Dr. Mark Meadows	Keynote Speaker: Dr. Greg Richards
Image, performance and identity in leisure, tourism and sport	Leisure, sport and tourism have long provided means for individuals and groupsto create/express their identity through leisure practices. In a literal sense, in tourist destinations there is an expanding engagement with performance to present history and heritage, festivals, music, and the creation of spectacle. The time-travel metaphor has become a prominent feature of the heritage industry and is intrinsically linked to escapism, nostalgia and identity -- all key themes in leisure and tourism strategies. Performativity in general has gained importance in the leisure literature, both as a metaphor and as an approach to analysing the embodied encounters of 'place consumers' in a locality. This theme will explore the many ways in which performance, performativity, and identity take centre stage in leisure, tourism and sport practices. Theme Leader: Dr. Martin Selby	Keynote Speaker: Prof. David Crouch
Culture, consumption and community well being	The complex relationship between culture, community and community well-being will be explored, reflecting the wide ranging impacts of health & well being both individual, family and community wide. The role of tourism and leisure both as industry and civic activity and lifestyles can be explored from a diverse range of view points such as education (formal and social), planning (towns, homes, workplaces destinations) and (social) marketing of both destinations and lifestyles (behaviours). This theme will also invite participants to explore the 'discovery' of culture as a key element of community development through such areas as cultural strategy development, 24 hour living, destination/cultural tourism marketing, cultural economic policy and 'measuring' culture health and well being. Theme Leader: Dr Allan Hackett	Keynote Speaker: Prof. Gareth Stratton

Centre for Tourism, Consumer and Food Studies, LSA 2008 Conference Committee members: Conference Chair: Deborah Pownall; Phillip Williamson; Julie Abayomi; Dr Hazel Andrews; Dr Jennifer Miller; Steve Burns; Dr Ian Davies; Dr Diane Grant; Dr Allan Hackett; Dr Claire Hennessey; Jo Ives; Drew Li; Dr Martin Selby; Dr Mark Meadows; Ann Thomson; Jackie Richards; Dr Leo Stevenson. Others involved: PHD Researcher: Martin Hudson, Liverpool Business School, LJMU; Ken Longden: School of Media, Critical and Creative Arts, LJMU; Dr Gaynor Bagnall: Sociology Department, University of Salford; Sarah Nixon: Centre for Sport Development, LJMU; Dr Don Cock Centre for PE, Sport and Dance, LJMU; Administrator: Liz Kerr.

This page updated January 24, 2008 Myrene McFee mcfee@solutions-inc.co.uk The LeisureStudies Association is a Registered Charity No. 294997