"Masking and Unmasking"
Les propositions de contributions autour de la thématique du masque et du dévoilement , en anglais, sont à envoyer avant le 15 juin 2008 à dukemaskingandunmasking@gmail.com
CALL FOR PAPERS
"Masking and Unmasking"
An Interdisciplinary Conference for Graduate Students
Sponsored By
The Department of Romance Studies
Duke University
Durham, North Carolina
September 12-13, 2008
The graduate students of the Romance Studies department at Duke University are pleased to invite submissions for their sixth annual interdisciplinary conference. The conference will bring together graduate students from a wide variety of disciplines whose work engages questions of masking and unmasking. In order to encourage a truly interdisciplinary exchange of ideas, we welcome papers in fields including, but certainly not limited to: literary studies, political science, cultural anthropology, philosophy, Latin American studies, art history, language studies, women's studies, history, film studies, critical theory, media studies, musicology, European studies, and psychology. We hope to initiate meaningful conversation through an exploration of various problems posed by masking and unmasking.
Papers could engage questions such as:
. It is possible to identify the literary critic or even the common reader as an agent in charge of uncovering the significance of a text?
. How might the dichotomy between exposure and concealment operate in the political world? How might the way we remember certain political actors mask some of their other significant contributions?
. How did certain historical figures use the process of masking and/or unmasking to their advantage? How have certain historical figures manipulated the past to their advantage?
. How could the idea of masking pertain to certain linguistic issues, such as hypercorrection? How useful is it for us to conceive of language as something that masks or unmasks other meanings?
. What role does unmasking play in education? Can we perceive of learning as an unveiling of the truth?
. Can gender divisions or classifications (feminine vs. masculine) be used to mask identities at the social, political or individual levels? How can gender studies become an academic way of masking a more deep problematic on gender conditioning? Can the notion of "transgender" be considered a method of unmasking or deconstructing rules and norms pertaining to gender?
. "Traduttore, Tradittore", goes the famous Italian saying. How can translation become a way of obscuring or, on the contrary, revealing the real meaning of a text? Is the translator a masked version of the author? Is the translator's real intention to unmask the writer's work?
. Is the "self" a performance? If so, how does one perform "oneself"? In what ways are "masks"-both figurative and literal-at the root of this performance?
. How have the developments in cinema and film propagated the concept of masking and unmasking?
. What role do masks play in contemporary anthropology studies? How are masks used in contemporary urban settings? Is it possible to uncover driving forces behind cultural movements?
. In what ways can the image of masking or unmasking be used in the field of psychology, and to what extent is this interpretation effective?
. Do architectural structures conceal and/or expose their surroundings? What is the role of this aesthetic transformation?
. Are there ways in which our critical practices might be said to disguise or reveal artistic intention?
. How have established techniques of approaching disciplines such as literature and music masked their possibilities of visuality? How can the evolution of contemporary "visual thought" transform the way in which we study and interpret multiple art manifestations?
. What is the role of donning and removing masks in religious rituals and expressions? How do masks, ceremonial clothing and other symbols represent people's conception of the divine and the spiritual? Why are masks so crucial to popular celebrations derived from religious practice, such as Carnival?
. In what ways might racial identities be conceived as "masks"? Might these "masks" be said to be externally imposed or self-donned? In what ways can self-"masking" be strategic, productive or problematic in the context of race relations?
. Where is the line between sexual practice and sexual identity? Does the revelation of a queer identity represent an "unmasking" (i.e., "coming out"), an act of "masking" (i.e., inserting oneself into a previously constructed identity), or both? Do queer sexual practices necessarily constitute a queer identity?
Please send abstracts of approximately 250 words to dukemaskingandunmasking@gmail.com. Abstracts must be submitted in English. In order to facilitate discussion across the disciplines, presentations will also be made in English. Presentations will last 12-15 minutes. With your submission, please include on a separate page your name, institutional affiliation, phone number, street address, email address, and a brief biographical sketch focusing on your academic work.
Deadline for submissions is June 15.