Paths of Desire: Itineraries as Transgression

October 11 and 12th, 2007

Paths of Desire: Itineraries as Transgression.

Paths of desire: A term appearing in studies of landscape design as well as architecture, which refers to the paths we trace when our desires lead us off the beaten track and a trail forms behind us.  This notion both encompasses the incidental and manifests longing, and brings to light the importance of both the traverser and the traversal.  These figures are key to the shaping of physical and theoretical topographies.  No itinerary is undertaken without motivation, or without leaving a mark.

To accentuate the role of transgression in the itinerary is to throw into relief the neutral plane of cartography. In the field of French studies, this notion has long been familiar to scholarly investigation of the urban

plan and the routes which span out from the metropole.  The transgressive path is inherent to conceptions of 19th century Paris, notably in the context of the bildungsroman, but also to theories of Orientalism.  This figure is evocative of both the violence inflicted on a terrain and on the community to which it is tied by the aggressive trailblazer, and the symmetrical violence which responds to these border crossings.  It acknowledges the importance of both the initial transgressive act and its manifold consequences.

This is a subject which is especially rich in interdisciplinary potential, a reflection of the blurring of lines which constitutes the interpretative framework itself.  We welcome papers from scholars with interests in literary

theory, geography, postcolonial theory, gender and queer studies, cultural and urban studies, and other related fields.  We also encourage the submission of creative productions, including films and fiction.

We are looking to move beyond existing and thoroughly wrought tropes of the voyager to plot new itineraries.

Please send an abstract of 300 words to pathsofdesire@gmail.com by June 15th,