Call for Papers: 28th International Cartographic Conference (ICC)

The official call for papers for the 28th International Cartographic Conference (ICC) is now open. Researchers working within the areas of cartography and geography are invited to submit abstracts for formal posters or papers. A collection of refereed conference papers will be published in a Springer book. Selected papers will also be invited for submission to one of the official ICA journals: The International Journal of Cartography, Cartography and Geographic Information Science, Cartographica, and The Cartographic Journal.

Among the many themes scheduled, submissions for a session on Toponymy (T31) are also being solicited. The topics to be dealt with in T31 are “place names as cultural heritage”, “place-name conflicts”, and “toponymic field work and documentation”. The deadline for abstract submission is the 26th of October 2016.

The ICC will be held in Washington, D.C. from the 2nd to the 7th of July 2017.

Actor Michael Caine officially changes his name

British actor Maurice Micklewhite, known by his stage name Michael Caine, has now has legally changed his name to Michael Caine. It was too difficult to deal with the increased airport security checks.

China censors beetle named after President Xi

China has censored all online references to the beetle species named after the country’s president, Xi Jinping. This comes as a disappointment to the scientist who discovered and named it.

American Name Society Summer Newsletter

The American Name Society is pleased to share the ANS 2016 Summer Newsletter.

Please consider becoming a member to receive more news updates.

Dancing peacock spider named after accomplished dancer

A new species of spider was recently discovered by Queensland Museum scientist Dr Barbara Baehr. She named the spider the maratus lincunxin in honor of Queensland Ballet artistic director Li Cunxin.

Where the streets have new names: the airbrush politics of renaming roads

Should we name streets after controversial people? What do these names say about a city’s identity?

Participate in an ANS Session on American Toponymy at the American Association of Geographers 2017 Annual Conference

The American Association of Geographers will be holdings its annual conference in the Boston, MA, from the 5th to the 9th of April, 2017. To further encourage ties between the onomastics and geography communities, an ANS session on contemporary US American toponymy is being proposed for the 2017 AAG conference.

If you are interested in being a part of this collaborative session, please send your name, affiliation, and a 400 word abstract (not including a bibliography) as a word document to Dr. I. M. Nick [mavi.yaz@web.de] by September 20, 2016. For processing ease, please be sure to include the phrase “ANS-GEO” in the subject line of your submission.

Trains to Correctly Pronounce Māori Place Names

Wellington trains haven’t been accurately pronouncing Māori place names. But now the Greater Wellington Regional Council is updating the recording for the automated announcements to reflect the correct pronunciation of in te reo Māori [the Māori language].

Call for Papers: The Journal of Urban Studies Special Issue on Naming

The journal of Urban Studies is planning a special issue on “Naming Rights and the Cultural Landscapes of Neoliberal Urbanism.” The purpose of this issue is to critically examine the use of naming rights as a spatial strategy of neoliberal urbanism.

Authors interested in contributing to this publication are invited to submit a 200-word abstract to [redwood@uvic.ca] by August 15, 2016.

Proposals which address one of the following themes are particularly encouraged:

political struggles over the planning, adoption, and implementation of urban naming rights policies, programs, or agreements
economic outcomes of urban naming rights programs in cities of varying sizes
the cultural reception of commodified place names in everyday speech and the spatial imaginaries of everyday urban life
the relationship between urban naming rights and broader processes of neoliberal urbanization.

In-depth case studies and comparative urban analyses are equally welcome.

Updated Information: ANS Panel at the Modern Language Association Conference

More information is now available about the ANS Panel at the Modern Language Association Conference, January 5-8th, 2017 in Philadelphia, PA.

The American Name Society will be holding a special panel under the theme of “Names and Multilingualism.” Multilingual and multicultural communities have been developed since the ancient world. The linguistic and cultural contacts within these communities have attracted the interest of a broad range of disciplines, where in some cases different strands have emerged.

For panelist abstracts and bios see Names and Multilingualism Information.