Announce

13–15 November 2020 University of Toronto Toronto, Canada

The past twenty-five years have witnessed a bourgeoning of studies on sexuality and gender in the pre-modern world. In particular, men and masculinities have received considerable attention. Building on the theoretical perspectives provided by feminism, Foucault, and cultural studies, the study of men and masculinities is increasingly theoretically inflected and sophisticated. Studies have encompassed questions pertaining to men of various social statuses, secular and ecclesiastical, as portrayed in historical, literary, philosophical, theological, and art historical sources among others.

This conference aims to locate the study of premodern men and masculinities in its current richness and complexity. Our plenary speakers will be two of the most important scholars in the area of medieval/early modern masculinities: Patricia Simons (University of Michigan) and Patricia Cullum (University of Huddersfield, UK). Papers are invited on all areas of study across the premodern world (500 to 1650 CE), crossing Europe’s religious and linguistic diversity, and encompassing its geographical breadth and beyond.

Topics might include: concepts of virility, patriarchy, marriage, fatherhood and procreative masculinities, social and political perspectives, medical and biological perceptions, celibacy, chastity, continence, monastic and clerical masculinity, sexual function and dysfunction, queer and non-binary masculinities, typologies of premodern men, depictions of masculinity in literature and the arts, etc.

Proposals are invited for individual papers, panels, roundtables, and alternatives to traditional academic presentation models. To submit a proposal, please include: speaker’s name and academic affiliation (or “independent scholar” as applicable); the title of the presentation; a 150-word abstract; full contact information (mailing address, telephone, email); and a one-page CV. In the case of proposals for complete sessions, this information must be provided for each presenter and the chair (if proposed).

Proposals should be emailed in Word format to both conference organizers: Prof. Jacqueline Murray at jacqueline.murray@uoguelph.ca and Prof. Konrad Eisenbichler at konrad.eisenbichler@utoronto.ca

Deadline for submission: 15 November 2019. Thank you!

Source: RSA

Iowa State University

14-16 mai 2020

Iowa State University aura l’honneur d’accueillir la dixième édition de la Conférence Internationale Women in French, axée autour des marges et des marginalités.

Conférences plénières confirmées :

- Anne Donadey (San Diego State University)

- Claire Legendre (Université de Montréal)

Thème :

Le vingtième siècle, et en particulier sa seconde moitié, témoigne d’une présence accrue des femmes de lettres sur les scènes littéraires françaises et francophones. Chaque année voit désormais la publication de nombreux premiers romans par de jeunes auteures ou des ouvrages par des écrivaines confirmées. L’on pourrait donc aisément croire que les femmes de lettres sont enfin parvenues à la reconnaissance tant culturelle que populaire. Et pourtant… En 2014, la lycéenne Ariane Baillon lançait une pétition sur Change.org pour contester la présence d’une seule femme philosophe, Hannah Arendt, au programme du Baccalauréat. Deux ans plus tard, l’enseignante Françoise Cahen soumettait une requête similaire au Ministère de l’Éducation nationale, de l’Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche pour inclure plus d’auteures au Bac L. Si, en 2018, celle-ci voit son vœu exaucé avec une épreuve exclusivement féminine (au programme : Madame de La Fayette, Madame de Staël et Colette), « sur les 51 textes présentés de 2003 à 2017, on compte… 3 signatures de femmes » (Brigaudeau). Il en va de même pour les prix littéraires : « Depuis la création du Goncourt . . . en 1903, les autrices françaises n’ont reçu que 159 prix sur les 740 récompenses décernées » (Orain et Dagorn). Enfin, Christine Planté et Audrey Lasserre nous rappellent que, en dépit de leurs contributions majeures à la littérature française, les écrivaines conservent une place presque insignifiante dans les manuels ou livres consacrés à l’histoire littéraire. Et que dire des auteures appartenant à ou représentant des perspectives minoritaires telles sexuelles ou ethnico-raciales ? Ces dernières subissent une double, voire triple invisibilisation. En dépit de leur grand nombre, les femmes de lettres, quel que soit leur contexte historique, demeurent ainsi encore marginales dans le paysage littéraire et la transmission de l’héritage culturel. Toutefois, comme l’exprime la féministe et philosophe afro-américaine bell hooks, les marges peuvent également incarner un puissant outil de conscientisation et de contestation. En effet, les auteures françaises et francophones ont contribué à la littérature d’expression française, et ce à n’importe quelle époque historique, des œuvres qui sont parmi les plus rebelles, originales ou politiques.

La conférence WIF 2020 propose d’examiner les voix et voies des marges et des marginalités à travers les siècles. Les propositions de communications pourront considérer les perspectives suivantes mais ne doivent en aucun cas s’y limiter :

Identités (individuelles, nationales, régionales, de genre, etc.)

Intersectionnalité (genre, classe, race, religion, etc.)

Discriminations, y compris les formes les moins discutées comme l’âgisme ou le capacitisme

Colonialisme et postcolonialisme

L’enseignement des marges au niveau universitaire

Précarité

Maladies (manies, obsessions ou dépendances)

Alternatives (perspectives, sociétés, féminismes, etc.)

Théorie des marges (queer, trans*, etc.)

Handicaps

Genres littéraires et cinématographiques

Place des femmes et autres perspectives sous-représentées dans la littérature ou le cinéma

Littératures et cinémas dits minoritaires

Empowerment

Rébellions

Paralittérature

Les rapports du (des) centre(s) avec la (les) marge(s)

Projet « One Book, One WIF » :

En partenariat avec nos collègues de WIF UK, Women In French participe au projet « One Book, One WIF ». Établi en 2017 par Stephanie Schechner, ce programme promeut l’étude d’auteures françaises ou francophones peu connues. L’auteure retenue pour la conférence de 2020 est Claire Legendre et son roman L’Écorchée vive (2009). Nous encourageons la soumission de propositions de communications ou de panels sur cette écrivaine.

Contributions :

Les propositions de communications ne doivent pas dépasser les 250 mots et doivent comprendre les coordonnées des intervenant.e.s ainsi qu’une notice bio-bibliographique (100 mots au maximum).

Les organisatrices encouragent la soumission de panels (3 intervant.e.s au minimum, 4 au maximum). Les propositions de panels doivent comprendre une explication de 250 mots ainsi que toutes les propositions individuelles.

Soumission :

Les propositions individuelles ou de panels peuvent être soumises au plus tard le 1er septembre 2019 via le site Internet de la conférence : http://www.wif2020conf.org

Calendrier :

1er septembre 2019 : soumission des propositions.

31 octobre 2019 : notification des acceptions ou refus.

30 novembre 2019 : date butoir pour confirmer (ou non) sa participation à la conférence.

15 décembre 2019 : date butoir pour régler les frais d’inscription à la conférence.

1er janvier 2020 : les intervenant.e.s sélectionné.e.s par le comité scientifique devront obligatoirement être membre de WIF avant le 1er janvier 2020 pour pouvoir participer à la conférence.

15 mars 2019 : Date butoir pour une demande de remboursement des frais d’inscription en cas d’annulation.

Ames et Iowa State University :

La ville d’Ames fut établie en 1864 afin de desservir, vers l’ouest, la voie de chemin de fer Cedar Rapids and Missouri River. Le président de la compagnie nomma la ville d’après un collègue également promoteur des chemins de fer, le Membre du Congrès Oakes Ames. Iowa State University, la première université “land-grant” des Etats-Unis, se situe à Ames. ISU s’est forgé une réputation de leader mondial dans diverses disciplines comme l’agriculture, le génie et la médecine vétérinaire. Avec plus de 35000 étudiant.e.s provenant de 130 pays différents, ISU possède une culture diversifiée et apporte un certain flair international au Midwest états-unien. Ames est facilement accessible par la terre et les airs. Ames se situe à environ 65 kilomètres (45 minutes) de l’aéroport International de Des Moines.

______________________________________________________________________________

10th International Women in French Conference

“Margins: Voices and Pathways”

Iowa State University

14-16 May 2020

Iowa State University is honored to host the 10th International Women in French Conference, focusing on margins and marginalities.  

Confirmed Plenary Presentations:

- Anne Donadey (San Diego State University)

- Claire Legendre (Université de Montréal)

Theme:

The twentieth century, especially the second half, has witnessed a marked increase in the number of women authors on the French and francophone literary scene. Because of the significant increase in the publication of debut novels by young authors and books by established writers, it would be tempting to conclude that women authors have finally achieved widespread cultural and public recognition. Nevertheless, in 2014, a high-school student, Ariane Baillon, launched a petition onChange.org to challenge the fact that just one female philosopher, Hannah Arendt, was part of the Baccalauréat exam. Two years later, high-school teacher Françoise Cahen submitted a similar request to the Ministère de l’Éducation nationale, de l’Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche to include more women authors in the Bac L exam. Although Madame de La Fayette, Madame de Staël and Colette were added to the program in 2018, “of the 51 texts included from 2003 to 2017, only three . . . were by women authors” (Brigaudeau). The same is true for literary awards: “Since the creation of the Goncourt . . . in 1903, French women authors have received only 159 of the 740 awards” (Orain and Dagorn). Finally, Christine Planté and Audrey Lasserre remind us that, despite their major contributions to French literature, women writers still do not occupy a prominent place in textbooks on literary history. Likewise, what can be said of authors from sexual or ethnoracial under-represented communities? These authors suffer the consequences of a double, or even triple invisibilization. Despite their large numbers and regardless of the historical time period, women authors are still marginalized in the literary world and in the transmission of cultural heritage. However, as posited by African-American feminist and philosopher bell hooks, being on the margins may constitute a powerful tool for creating awareness and protest. Indeed, women authors have written some of the most rebellious, original and political literature of French expression in all historical eras.

The 2020 WIF Conference will examine voices and pathways from the margins, as well as diverse forms of marginality from all eras. Possible topics include; but are not limited to: 

Identities (individual, national, regional, gender, etc.) 

Intersectionality (gender, class, race, religion, etc.) 

Discrimination, including under-represented forms such as ageism or ableism 

Colonialism and Postcolonialism 

Approaches to teaching the issue of marginality at the university level 

Destitution

Illness (including mania, obsession, addiction)

Alternatives (perspectives, societies, feminisms, etc.)

Theories of the margins (queer, trans*, etc.)

Disabilities

Literary and cinematographic genres 

Place of under-represented women and perspectives in literature or film 

“Minority” literature and film

Empowerment

Rebellions

Paraliterature

Relationship between the center(s) and the margin(s)

“One Book, One WIF” Initiative:

In partnership with our colleagues from WIF UK, Women in French is continuing the “One Book, One WIF” initiative. Established in 2017 by Stephanie Schechner, this project aims to promote critical interest in lesser known French and francophone women writers. The book selected for the 2020 WIF conference is Claire Legendre’s novel L’Écorchée vive (2009). Proposals for papers or panels on this author are encouraged.

Proposals:

Individual abstracts should not exceed 250 words and should include the presenter’s contact information as well as a short biography (100 words maximum). Proposals for three- or four-paper panels are also encouraged. Panel proposals should include a 250-word rationale for the proposed topic as well as individual abstracts.

Submissions:

Individual abstracts or panel proposals must be submitted no later than September 1, 2019 via the conference website: http://www.wif2020conf.org.

Calendar:

September 1, 2019: Submission of proposals.

October 31, 2019: Notification of acceptance or refusal.

November 30, 2019: deadline to confirm conference participation.

December 15, 2019: deadline to register for the conference.

January 1, 2020: Participants must be members of WIF by January 1, 2020 to participate in the conference.

March 15, 2019: Deadline for reimbursement of the registration fee due to cancellation.

Ames and Iowa State University:

Ames was established in 1864 to serve the westward-bound Cedar Rapids and Missouri River Railroad. The president of the railroad named the town after fellow rail promoter, Congressman Oakes Ames. Ames is the home to Iowa State University, the nation’s first land-grant university. Iowa State has established itself as a world leader in diverse disciplines such as agriculture, engineering, and veterinary medicine. With more than 35,000 students hailing from nearly 130 different nations, Iowa State offers cultural diversity and brings a distinct international flavor to the Midwest. Ames is easily accessible by ground and air transportation. Ames is 40 miles (45 minutes) from the Des Moines International Airport.

Organisatrices/Organizers:

Dr. Michèle A. Schaal (Iowa State University) mschaal@iastate.edu

Dr. Arline Cravens (Saint Louis University) arline.cravens@slu.edu

Dr. Susan Ireland (Grinnell College) ireland@grinnell.edu

Comité scientifique/Selection Committee:

Arline Cravens (Saint Louis University), Susan Ireland (Grinnell University), E. Nicole Meyer (Augusta University), Patrice J. Proulx (University of Nebraska Omaha), Michèle A. Schaal (Iowa State University)

Bibliographie/References:

Baillon, Ariane. « Benoît Hamon: Donnez une place aux femmes dans les programmes scolaires. » Change.org août 2014. Web. 30 août 2018 <https://www.change.org/p/beno%C3%AEt-hamon-donnez-une-place-aux-femmes-d....

Brigaudeau, Christel. « Colette, Madame de Staël… un bac français 2018 très féminin. » Le Parisien.fr  18 juin 2018. Web. 30 août 2018 <http://www.leparisien.fr/societe/colette-madame-de-stael-un-bac-francais....

Cahen, Françoise. « Pour donner leur place aux femmes dans les programmes de littérature au bac L. » Change.org mai 2016. Web. 30 août 2018 <https://www.change.org/p/najatvb-donnez-leur-place-aux-femmes-dans-les-p....

hooks, bell. Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center. 1984. New York : South End Press, 2000.

Lasserre, Audrey. « Les Femmes du XXe siècle ont-elles une histoire littéraire ? » Cahier du CERACC.4 (2010) : 1-18.

Orain, Grégoire, et Gary Dagorn. « Combien de femmes parmi les prix littéraires français ? » Le Monde.fr  24 nov. 2017. Web. 30 août 2018 <https://www.lemonde.fr/les-decodeurs/article/2015/11/03/les-prix-littera....

Planté, Christine. « La Place des femmes dans l’histoire littéraire : Annexe ou point de départ d’une relecture ? » Revue d’histoire littéraire de la France 103.3 (2003): 655-68.

June 15–17, 2020 Saint Louis University Saint Louis, Missouri

The Eighth Annual Symposium on Medieval and Renaissance Studies (June 15–17, 2020) is a convenient summer venue in North America for scholars to present papers, organize sessions, participate in roundtables, and engage in interdisciplinary discussion. The goal of the Symposium is to promote serious scholarly investigation into all topics and in all disciplines of medieval and early modern studies. The plenary speakers for this year will be David Abulafia, of Cambridge University, and Barbara Rosenwein, of Loyola University, Chicago.

The Symposium is held annually on the beautiful midtown campus of Saint Louis University. On campus housing options include affordable, air-conditioned apartments as well as a luxurious boutique hotel. Inexpensive meal plans are also available, although there is a wealth of restaurants, bars, and cultural venues within easy walking distance of campus. While attending the Symposium, participants are free to use the Vatican Film Library, the Rare Book and Manuscripts Collection, and the general collection at Saint Louis University's Pius XII Memorial Library.

The Eighth Annual Symposium on Medieval and Renaissance Studies invites proposals for papers, complete sessions, and roundtables. Any topics regarding the scholarly investigation of the medieval and early modern world are welcome. Papers are normally twenty minutes each and sessions are scheduled for ninety minutes. Scholarly organizations are especially encouraged to sponsor proposals for complete sessions.

The deadline for all submissions is December 31, 2019. Decisions will be made in January and the final program will be published in February.

For more information or to submit your proposal online go to: https://www.smrs-slu.org/

Kinney Center for Interdisciplinary Renaissance Studies, University of Massachusetts Amherst

February 22, 2020

What are the ecological affordances of thinking with the medieval and early modern past? How can the environmental humanities inspire eco-mimetic modes of thinking and writing? This think-tank conference invites research-in-progress that parses the entanglements of nature and culture, the human and the nonhuman, the material and the metaphysical, to explore how medieval and early modern ecocritical scholarship might speak directly to contemporary political and social concerns.

The conference will include three panels, grouped thematically according to distinct modes of ecological entanglement:

Ruins: Pre- and early modern texts, often imperfectly preserved, testify to the ruinous forces of nature as experienced in earlier centuries. The cultural artifacts damaged by water, rot, and fire evinced a “human” struggle with and against the “natural” world. Furthermore, the vast cultural, material, and textual ruins of medieval England were unearthed, consumed, and repurposed by early moderns in myriad ways. How might these entanglements of the past inform a modern posture toward environmental catastrophe? Do contemporary scholars have an obligation to salvage “dead” languages, “primitive” technologies, and “erroneous” science, and why?  

Graftings: For the pre/early modern scholar, grafting as a motif allows us a model for ecocriticism that is entangled with the nonhuman world. Inspired and provoked by the early modern debates about the ethics of human gardeners mixing breeds and types of plant life, this panel is especially interested in experimental, multimodal, and/or interdisciplinary projects which articulate ecological questions across historical periodizations and traditional disciplines. For instance, how might we “graft” a pre/early modern cultural or material artifact onto 21st-century economics in order for that particular, vibrant object to bear fruit?  

Stratification: Ruptured, layered, diachronous and synchronous, the geological record has produced a rich repertoire for rethinking human temporalities. Entangled with non-literary environments, pre/early modern literary texts often re-imagine futurity, causation, and pattern. How can ecological readings of literary texts help us to uncover alternatives to disciplinary periodization and heterolinearity? How might these texts prompt 21st century readers and scholars to be more receptive to, for example, “queer” temporalities or “crip” temporalities?

Each panelist will give a 10-minute proposal aimed at generating conversation. Emphasis will be placed on sparking exploratory, lateralized conversations between panelists and audiences. If you are interested in submitting an abstract for one of the panels below, please submit a 500-word abstract to conference organizers, John Yargo and Melissa Hudasko, at marenaissanceconference@gmail.com by November 15, 2019.

University of Edinburgh

30th of January to 1st of February 2020

The University of Edinburgh is hosting an interdisciplinary international conference entitled Memories of Loss, Dreams of Solidarity. The conference examines intricate processes of political memory-formation in the wake of systemic political violence. It invites reflection on competing national mythologies, their affective modalities, genres and material instantiations. We also welcome analyses of critical artistic interventions, in particular in relation to their ability to reveal the ambiguities and complexities of political violence and to sketch images of alternative futures. The goal is to displace the predominant victim-perpetrator binary, challenge linear political visions of transcending the past and nurture visions of solidarity that remain deeply anchored in the murky terrain of past complicities and resistances. We aim to bring together perspectives from political theory, memory studies, art, history, transitional justice, literature and film to interrogate the risks and potentials involved in remembering histories of violence and loss.

Confirmed speakers:

Emily Beausoleil, Victoria University

Vikki Bell, Godsmith, University of London

Mihaela Czobor-Lupp, Carleton College

Hans Lauge Hansen, Aarhus University

Melissa Steyn, University of Witwatersrand

Joseph R. Winters, Duke University

We invite papers that address, but are not limited to, the following questions:

What role can imagination play in problematising the memorialisation of political violence?

How does nostalgia factor in processes of memorialisation? Is nostalgia a necessarily conservative force?

What is the political value of melancholia and disappointment in relation to revealing the residual effects of systemic violence?

What horizons of political hope are opened up by various collective reactions to past violence?

Can painful pasts provide sources for utopian dreaming?

What are the normative implications of understanding violent pasts in terms of complicity and responsibility?

Can artistic production supplement – or even surpass – theory in its power to illuminate the intricate dynamics of societal involvement in political violence?

How can we distinguish between disclosive and obscuring artistic genres and practices of memorialising the murky realities of political conflict?

What are unconventional repositories of dissident political memories, how can we identify them, and what role can these play in problematising official narratives of the past?

How does location and the materiality of the medium affect the political significance of memory and its potential to produce more nuanced understandings of systemic violence?

What happens, politically, culturally and aesthetically, when a former opposed memory becomes a new official memory? How is it possible, if at all, for critical memory to maintain its integrity when co-opted by the state or the cultural industry?

On the basis of what sources can we articulate visions of solidarity in the wake of political struggles?

We encourage applications from various disciplinary backgrounds, including social and political theory, philosophy, history, art, cultural, memory studies, transitional justice and film studies. We welcome contributions from normative, historical, conceptual and comparative perspectives.

Abstract Submission

The deadline for paper abstracts is 30 September 2019. Abstract submissions should include your name, institutional affiliation, contact, paper title, an abstract of no more than 200 words and a brief biographical note.

Notification of acceptance will be given by mid-October at the latest. The selected participants will be asked to submit their papers via email by 10 January 2019.

A limited number of bursaries is available. If you wish to be considered for financial support, please specify the reasons in the relevant rubric in the application form.

To submit your application, follow this link:  https://forms.gle/udaX6jysgrNPsLXDA

Contact 

The conference is organized by the GREYZONE project team. Please direct all your queries to mihaela.mihai@ed.ac.uk.