 |
 |
> >From: [log in to unmask] >Subject: CFP: Comparative Literature: Agency in/and/via Literature >(8/4/05; 10/21/05-10/22/05) > >AGENCY >in/and/via >LITERATURE >A conference at UC Berkeley, 10/21-22 >Hosted by the Department of Comparative Literature >Featuring Keynote Speaker Rei Terada >(English & Comp Lit, UC Irvine) > >But first! A call for your papers: > >The crisis, we think, has long since been declared. Critical theory, >deconstruction, and the >manifold critique of ideology, meant the lucid undoing of any >complacent faith in human reason, >progress, language, or consequence. > >In the wake of theories that question the very possibility of right >action, "agency" has become >both a catchword and an idea we can no longer take for granted. >Although "agency" seems a >contemporary term, the idea's antecedents share an expectation that >human works and actions >somehow engage social realities. > >We are seeking to understand the limits and possibilities of >"agency" as manifest in literature >and criticism. > >We are calling for papers from graduate students, faculty, and >unaffiliated scholars addressing, >among others, these questions: > >ï Where do we locate agency in the interaction of reader, writer, >text, and critic in literature? > >ï Why use agency as a point of literary inquiry? What are the >consequences of not doing so? Might >the discussion of agency in academia promote--or perhaps >mask--ethical projects? > >ï Does simply posing the question of "agency" presuppose a necessary >interaction between literary >and social/political questions? Can, do, or should we assume the >existence of agency and its >relevance to the study of literature? > >ï What are our contemporary notions of agency and their alleged >contraries? How do they link to >questions posed in other periods? > >ï If literature is deemed an aesthetic project, how does this status >inflect our concept? Is >aesthetics subordinate to the question of agency, or indispensable >to it? How is agency treated >differently in other disciplines? > >In the spirit of dialogic liveliness, we plan to make some >modifications to the traditional >conference format. Fun may occur. Snacks are a certainty. We look >forward to meeting you and your >work. >Please send an abstract of about 500 words by August 4, 2005 to >[log in to unmask] ******************* The German Studies Call for Papers List Editor: Stefani Engelstein Assistant Editor: Meghan McKinstry Sponsored by the University of Missouri Info available at: http://www.missouri.edu/~graswww/resources/gerlistserv.html