'Language is never innocent' : Roland Barthes at Boston College, Interdisciplinary Graduate Conference
The Department of Romance Languages and Literatures at Boston College is organizing an interdisciplinary graduate conference in celebration of Roland Barthes’ centennial. Deeply invested in the role of literature and art in society, Barthes’ influence extended far beyond the boundaries of French language and literature. His writings laid the groundwork for modern literary theory and criticism. Forever resisting dogmatic assertions, Barthes’ curiosity and expansive body of work have left a mark on almost every intellectual field of study and, far from outdated, his writings continues to influence generations of scholars.
We would like to invite graduate students from all literary traditions, language backgrounds and fields of study to present a paper related to any aspect of Barthes’ work, his influence, or his legacy in literature, theory, arts, and literary criticism. Suggested topics include, but are not limited to:
- Literature and Literary Theory
- Language and Politics
- Popular culture
- Narratology
- Semiotics
- Linguistics
- Metalanguage
- Modern Mythology
- Barthes’ reading of History
- Pleasure of the Text
- The Neutral
- The “Death of the Author”
- Social Theory
- Visual and Performative Arts
- Barthes and Eastern Culture
- Fashion and Meaning
Presentations should be in English and not exceed 20 minutes. The Boston College XVIII Graduate Conference will take place on November 13-14, 2015 on the Chestnut Hill campus of Boston College. In addition, conference proceedings will be published in a monographic issue of Romance eReview, the department’s peer-reviewed online graduate journal (http://ejournals.bc.edu/ojs/index.php/romance/index)
You are invited to submit a 250-word abstract by September 21 to our email address: barthesatbostoncollege@gmail.com. Please include: the title of your presentation, 4-5 keywords, your name and your academic affiliation. For more info: rll@bc.edu.