Trespassing, Translation, Transcendence and Transvestism: Finding Comfort in the Space Between.
Call for papers
Trespassing, Translation, Transcendence and Transvestism:
Finding Comfort in the Space Between
The 1
February 7, 2009
st University of Iowa Graduate Symposium in French and Francophone Studies
In a time when the blurring of preconceived categories is becoming unmistakably manifest, both on a macrocosmic (globalization) and microcosmic (interdisciplinary studies) scale, attention naturally turns to the interstices between rigidly defined boundaries as a space of intersection and collaboration. Since we are forced to collectively face a multitude of recently defined crises such as AIDS and global warming, now is the time for establishing creative alliances. Yet we are still far from resolving the issues of racism, sexism, exploitation and religious intolerance, all of which can engender fragmented societies – even within the larger context of globalization. How do literary studies with their interrogation of the interstices separating cultures, species, genres and the arts counteract this splintering? What is the nature of this interstitial space? What was its past? What will its future be like? In what other ways are boundaries challenged, crossed, transcended or eliminated? To what extent are the notions of boundaries even valid? Has the very idea of boundary transgression become a fixed or canonical idea? If so, where do we go from here? We encourage submissions from all areas and periods of French and Francophone studies. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
Gender and Sexuality Studies Translation (Linguistic/Metaphorical) Holocaust/Genocide Studies Imagetext
Interdisciplinary Studies (Literature and Art, Medicine or Science)
Intertextuality Intercultural Studies Interspecies Studies (Human/Non-Human)
Colonial and Postcolonial Literature
Canonical and Paraliterary Genres
French and Francophone Studies
Plenary Speaker: TBA
Presentations should not exceed 20 minutes (8-10 pages MLA Style), and may be in French or in English. Please send via e-mail a 200/250-word abstract, in English or in French, with your name, affiliation and contact information. Abstracts must be received no later than October 1, 2008. Participants will be notified via email by December 15, 2008. Send to: uigraduatesymposium@gmail.com.
Sponsored by the Department of French and Italian