July 2009




Interdisciplinary Approaches to Spirituality in the Literatures of the English-Speaking World
University of Vienna, Austria  -  6-8 July 2009
Deadline for proposals: 1 December 2008

Papers and presentations are invited for a 3-day conference to be hosted by the Institut für Anglistik and Amerikanistik, University of Vienna, 6–8 July 2009. The conference, convened by the English Department of the University of Vienna (Austria) and the research groups Interdisciplinarité dans les études anglophones (I.D.E.A.) of Nancy-Université (France) and Écritures from the Université Paul Verlaine-Metz (France), intends to bring together scholars of various disciplines from all over the world who share a keen interest in the study of spirituality and its literary manifestations in the English-speaking world. The aim of the conference is to explore the hermeneutic potential of interdisciplinary approaches to spiritual literature; thus papers relying on insights derived from such disciplines as theology, philosophy, history, psychology, psychoanalysis, anthropology or comparative religion (to name only a few), as well as from comparative and cross-cultural studies in the field of English spirituality of any period and any religious tradition, are most welcome.
Papers employing interdisciplinary approaches are encouraged to address a wide range of literary texts and topics, including theories of spirituality, a taxonomy of spiritual texts, spirituality and gender, spiritual experience and language, theistic vs. atheistic spirituality, the alleged "common core" of all spiritual traditions, or transcendental inspiration as a source of knowledge and creativity. Equally welcome are interdisciplinary readings of spiritual literature of any genre, period and cultural background from within the English-speaking world, such as Caedmon, the English Mystics, spiritual counsellors and female visionaries of the Late Middle Ages, the Metaphysical Poets of the 17th century, Blake and the Romantics, the American Transcendentalists, Anglo-Indian mystical authors like Tagore or Sri Chinmoy, Christian contemplatives of the 20th century like Thomas Merton, or English poems of Australian aborigines.
The language of the conference is English exclusively. Proposals - including a short CV and an abstract in English of up to 400 words (Word document) - should be sent by 1 December 2008 to Franz Wöhrer <franz-karl.woehrer@univie.ac>.at and John Bak <john.bak@univ-nancy2.fr>.
Notification of acceptance: 16 Jan 2009. Presentations should not exceed 30 minutes; selected papers will be published sometime after the conference.
(posted 5 Mar '08)



Facing the East in the West: Images of Eastern Europe in British Literature, Film and Culture
Freiburg University, Germany  -  23-26 July 2009
Deadline for proposals: 30 September 2008

Organisers: Prof. Dr. Barbara Korte and Ulrike Pirker, MA (Freiburg University), Dr. Sissy Helff (University Frankfurt/Main).
In the last decade migration flows from Central and Eastern Europe -- the former Eastern bloc -- to Britain have become a pressing issue in political debates about human rights law, social integration, multiculturalism and citizenship in the UK. Moreover, the increasing number of Eastern Europeans living in Britain has provoked ambivalent and diverse public reactions and responses, including a whole range of representations in film and literature, from 'humorous' fiction (such as A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian) to thrillers like Eastern Promises.
This observation calls for closer investigation, especially if we keep in mind that some decades ago British society was similarly sceptical about migrants coming to 'the mother country' -- migrants who have meanwhile become an integral part of British society and changed notions of British identity. While current representations and self-representations of Black and Asian Britons are diverse, the contemporary image of Eastern and Central Europeans in literature and film tends to favour a homogeneous iconography and still often verges on stereotype.
In order to approach 'multicultural Britain' from a different vantage point, this conference intends to discuss a wide range of representations of Eastern and Central Europe, as well as people from these regions, in British literature, film and other areas of cultural enunciation. While a focus will be on waves of migration after 1989, contributions with a historical perspective are also encouraged (for instance on conceptions of Europe's East in Dracula and The Prisoner of Zenda, or the portrayal of migrants in East End fiction).
By choosing its specific regional framework, the conference will transcend the discussion of migration to Britain from an established 'postcolonial' perspective, and it will contribute to current explorations of 'new' European identities.
We invite papers with historical and contemporary, comparative and theoretical approaches to the topic.
Please send a 250-word proposal by 30 September 2008 to <facingtheeast@anglistik.uni-freiburg.de>.
(posted 8 Aug '08)


  

August 2009




Roads Not Taken: The 10th International Connotations Symposium
Eberhard Karls Universitaet Tuebingen, Germany  -  2-6 August 2009
Deadline for Proposals: 31 October 2008

The symposium will be about a subject which, strictly speaking, is not a subject at all. It is the road not taken: an opportunity missed, a word not spoken, a life not lived. One variation on this theme is the story of a middle-aged or old character who looks back on his life, in a more or less melancholy mood,  pondering a career he has not had or a relationship he has not embarked upon (e.g. James, "The Beast in the Jungle"; Beckett, Krapp’s Last Tape; Ishiguro, The Remains of the Day). 
But the road not taken need not always be a good thing missed. It could also be the primrose path of dalliance or any other highroad to ruin avoided by sheer luck, by divine intervention, or because insight came just in time. An example would be Prospero's renunciation of vengeance in The Tempest or Christian's not following the way to Hell in Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress. Another variant of the theme is the treatment of several plot developments that branch off from the same premises, as in John Fowles's The French Lieutenant's Woman (i.e. the roads not taken are treated as more or less equivalent with the one actually chosen).
Questions to be dealt with include the following:
- How do the road taken and the road not taken compare with each other?
- Is an unlived life unfolded in great detail or is it merely suggested through pregnant details?
- Is it conveyed through the character's memories and fantasies or is it represented through some other means?
- Do pre-modern texts emphasize nemesis avoided whereas modern ones focus on chances missed?
The conference venue will be the beautifully situated Waldhotel Zollernblick near Freudenstadt in the Black Forest, with some  meetings to be held at Tübingen.
As the emphasis of the Connotations symposia is on critical debate, talks should not be longer than 30 minutes, leaving another 30 minutes for discussion. 
Please submit proposals of about 200 words’ length by October 31, 2008, to: 
Prof. Matthias Bauer
Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen
Department of English
Wilhelmstr. 50
72074 Tübingen
Germany
<Matthias.Bauer@connotations.de>
(posted 14 Jul '08)



Universals and Typology in Word-Formation
Šafárik University, Košice, Slovakia  -  16-18 August 2009
Deadline for proposals: 28 February 2009

The Conference aims to give an impetus to the research into universals and typology in word-formation by a joint effort of both morphologists and typologists. Papers discussing correlations between individual word-formation processes as well as between WF processes and genetic types and/or geographically related languages are most welcome.  Space will also be given to any other typologically oriented research into word-formation as well as papers discussing the scope of word-formation and the relation between word-formation and other linguistic disciplines.
Main organizers: Rochelle Lieber, University of New Hampshire, USA, Pavel Stekauer, P.J. Šafárik University, Košice, Slovakia, Salvador Valera, University of Jaén, Spain and SKASE.
Guest Speakers:
Laurie Bauer, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
Greville Corbett, University of Surrey, United Kingdom
Wolfgang U. Dressler, Vienna University, Austria
Martin Haspelmath, Max-Planck-Institut, Lepzig, Germany
Marianne Mithun, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA
Greg Stump, University of Kentucky, USA
Bernhard Wälchli, University of Bern, Switzerland
Important deadlines:
Submission of abstracts: February 28, 2009
Notification of acceptance: April 30, 2009
Submission of a registration form: May 31, 2009
Submission of complete papers: July 15, 2009
All the relevant information copncerning submission of papers, accommodation, registration, travel instructions, and important deadlines, is available on the website of SKASE, The Slovak Association for the Study of English: http://www.skase.sk (follow "Kosice 2009 Conference").
(posted 8 Nov '07, updated 21 Jan '08))



  

September 2009

 


Ford and France - Ford's Provence
University of Provence, France  -  10-12 September 2009
Deadline for proposals: 1 December 2008

An international conference organised by the Ford Madox Ford Society and the LERMA.
Ford was a major internationalist, and in particular a lover of France, its literature and culture.  He wrote much on France and French writing - wrote in French himself occasionally - and set several of his books in Paris and Provence, where he spent most of his time from 1922 to his death. He also edited the Transatlantic Review from Paris, publishing French writers alongside American and British ones. Yet Ford’s significant relationship to France has scarcely been studied.
This conference aims to mark a new beginning in French Fordian studies, relocate Ford in the cultural setting of Provence, and ensure that his coming out of copyright (in 2009) sees more of his work translated into French.
Subjects might include:
- Ford's editorial work for the transatlantic review and its supplements;
- Ford's as yet little-researched French network of writers, poets, artists and musicians: Philippe Soupault, Francis Carco, Tristan Tzara, Jules Laforgue, Jean Cassou, René Crevel, Georges Pillement, Valéry Larbaud, Juan Gris, Jacob Epstein, Braque, Brancusi, Nina Hamner, Georges Antheil and Eric Satie;
- Ford's treatment of France in his reminiscences and autobiography;
- Ford's vision of France, from his propaganda books to the French plots and settings in his fiction;
- Ford's views on the giants of French literature and culture – Flaubert, Maupassant, Proust, etc.;
- Ford and Biala in France.
Send 300-word abstracts for twenty-minute papers (English and French) to Dominique Lemarchal <dominique.lemarchal@univ-angers.fr> or <domford@wanadoo.fr> and Claire Pégon-Davison <claire.pegon@univ-provence.fr> by December 1, 2008.
The proceedings will be published in the International Ford Madox Ford Studies (Rodopi).
(posted 2 Jul '08)



Dis/solutions: the future of the past in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific (10th Biennial EASA Conference)
University of the Balearic Islands, Spain  -  22-25 September 2009

Deadline for proposals: 1 April 2009

In his momentous Sorry speech of February 13, 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd confidently announced Australia’' firm resolution to /turn a new page in history by writing the wrongs of the past /and find solutions for the future. The overwhelming task at hand for Australians in the 21st century is none but to /close the gap that lies between indigenous and non-indigenous /peoples and /shape the next chapter /of their history by redefining the terms of the country’s foundational myths and (his)stories. Certainly, to quote from Henry Lawson, the country has come a long way since "it began to boomerang". But in order /to take heart for the future/ and for its peoples /to become fully reconciled to their past/ they need to revisit and reassess whole chapters of their history until old lies, myths and stereotypes dissolve and clear the ground for new solutions, aimed at reconciliation but addressing also possible ways of articulating a multicultural Australia.
Across the Tasman they have been clearing the ground for a considerably longer while; nonetheless there are still pending gaps to be bridged, not only between Maori and Pakeha, but with other ethnic and social minorities, in relation to their position and partaking in the diverse national debates in which New Zealand is currently engaged. As the general election approaches in late 2008, this might be a good moment both to discuss possible solutions for old and new problems and to consider the revision, if not the dissolution, of some of the country’s narratives and myths.
As for the wider Pacific region, the challenges faced by its peoples in the 21st century continue to be determined by uninterrupted currents of change. Migration movements, political and economic instabilities and global flows of transcultural exchange have altered the profile of the region, resulting both in the dissolution of local allegiances and traditional values and in the creation of new transnational bonds and interinsular networks, which will inevitably determine the future of the region and the ways in which we choose to undertake any discussion of its past.
Under the same sun, but from the opposite hemisphere, with this conference we propose to light a homely fire, put another billy on and invite boiling academic discussion over the issue of national and cultural (dis)solutions in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific. Our aim will be to explore to what extent the future of these nations and the region at large will depend on the disintegration of the allegiances and narratives of the past, whether those /old approaches /that have failed so far can really be superseded by new political solutions, new cultural (re)constructions and narrative formulas, and which aspects are involved in the process of (dis)solving the past and the present /to go forward with confidence/.
We particularly welcome submissions that are concerned with (but not limited to):
· The dissolution, reconstruction, faking and performance of cultural, national and ethnic identities.
· The dissolution of History in favour of histories, herstories, stories.
· Dissolutions and new configurations of landscapes, seascapes and cityscapes.
· Dissolutions of gender, racial, social, ethnic and indigenous conflicts.
· Dis/solving multicultural, migration, refugee issues.
· Dis/solving historical mysteries, silences, traumas.
· Dissolving and resolving political and cultural dilemmas of the 21^st century.
· Dis/solving memories. Re/membering stories.
· Dis/solutions and dis/illusions.
· Diasporic, global and local dis/solutions.
Our Association’s inter- and multidisciplinary approach to studies on Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific can host presentations from a wide range of disciplines and subject areas such as: Anthropology, Cultural Studies, Ethnic Studies, Gender Studies, History, Linguistics, Literature, Media and Film Studies, Political Science, Sociology, Visual and performing arts, etc
We encourage a liberal and creative approach to the topic.
One day preceding the conference will be devoted to a *Postgraduate Seminar*, where postgraduate/advanced students will be able to discuss their work with experts in their field in a lecture + workshop format.
Please e-mail your 250-word abstracts, marking its subject "10th EASA Conference", by 1st APRIL 2009 to: <paloma.fresno@uib.es>.
Acceptance of papers will be communicated by 1st May 2009.
For further information, please visit: http://www.easa-australianstudies.net/intro.php
Organising Committee: Paloma Fresno, Aurora García, Alejandra Moreno, Eva Pérez, Cristina Suárez, Lucía Loureiro, Marta Fernández, J. Igor Prieto, Marian Amengual, Juana Mª Seguí and Caty Ribas (members of the research group "Cultural Diversity in English-Speaking Countries" (University of the Balearic Islands).
(posted 8 Jun '08)



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