12/13/2016
Call for Papers: The TAMUCC Interdisciplinary Graduate Conference Committee is pleased to announce the conference theme for 2017: Movement and Mobility.
Department of English and History, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
Deadline for abstract submission: Monday, January 30, 2017.
In a world of rapid global expansion and technological transformation, it can seem as though we are constantly in motion. In response, scholars in the humanities have taken a growing interest in the various ways movement and mobility continually reshape our world. Transnational migrations, human trafficking, and the development of global diasporas, past and present, have re-ordered geographic and cultural boundaries. New methods of travel, from trains and ships to automobiles and airplanes, have had a dramatic impact on the ways we move from one place to another and have forced us to consider the ecological and social consequences of this movement. And in the present, new technologies—from GPS and drones to mobile gaming and virtual reality—have transformed the ways we think about what it means for people to move through physical and virtual space. Historians of politics, literature, and society have studied how activist and artistic “movements” alike have taken shape, while scholars of disability have asked what assumptions about physical capability underlie our conversations about mobility. By seeking to make connections between environment, geography, technology, embodiment, history, and cultural forms, humanities scholars have developed new approaches to understanding what it means to be “on the move.”
We invite submissions on any humanistic approach to movement and/or mobility from graduate scholars working in the fields of literature, history, theater and dance, women, gender and sexuality studies, environmental humanities, oceanic studies, digital humanities, and American studies. Abstracts from both undergraduate researchers and creative writers are also welcome. Papers that adopt interdisciplinary perspectives and examine movements or mobility from diverse theoretical vantage points are encouraged. Presentations should be limited to 15 minutes. The symposium will be open to the public.
Possible topics include (but are not limited to):
- Strategies of movement and migration. What histories and theories of migration have had important impacts on the aesthetic and political cultures they engage? What social, aesthetic, or cultural practices have people used to cope with or justify their movements or migrations?
- Technologies of motion and mobility. How have these contributed to the movement of persons, commodities, and ideas? How have transportation technologies shaped labor, nationalism, communities, or social perceptions of gender, race, or ethnicity? How have technologies that allow us to move through spaces virtually (including computing and gaming) changed the relationship between person and place?
- Environmental movement. What has been the effect or response to movements and migrations on environmental factors and ideas about the environment? How have the movements of technological advancement shaped environments and ideas about them? What elements of our geographical/environmental experiences are “on the move” in ways good or bad?
-Movement and gender. How do gendered bodies move through space and time? What kind of bodily and imaginative mobility are available for those who seek alternative forms of gender or sexual expression? How have discourses of movement, mobility, and change shaped perceptions of gender and sexuality?
- Mobility and the body. How do concepts of ability and disability shape notions of “mobility”? What sorts of activities, contexts, or abilities enable or impede the movement of individual bodies? How do dancing or performing bodies make meaning through movement?
- Movements through time. How does a movement through time shape or affect bodies? Which ones? How can bodies change over time, and how is that change explored in literature, media, or other objects of culture? What theories of history help to shape discussions of migration or its practices? How do migrants, activists, or artists imagine temporality/movement through time?
- Formal Movements. How have social movements or groups used media forms to convey their messages/manifestos/positions? What strategies of formal innovation or “mobility” have social or activist movements used, and why? How do movements tap into the public’s emotions? What does it mean to create a “moving” work of literature, art, or propaganda?
Submissions:
What to Submit:
A 500-word abstract describing the paper’s argument, critical context, and significance. Please include your name, contact information, and paper title with the abstract.
An up-to-date CV.
A brief biography (200-300 words)
Where to Submit:
Abstracts, CVs, and bios should be submitted via email to: [email protected]
Any questions may also be directed to this address.
Deadline for Abstracts: Friday, January 27th, 2016
Acceptances will be sent out in February
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Dr. Hester Blum, Associate Professor of English at The Pennsylvania State University
Presentation Title: Writ Upon Ice
