1st International Conference
University of Zadar
10 - 12 September 2010
Conference Topic: The Issue of the (Post)Other: Postmodernism and the Other
Every questioning of the term postmodernism generates a new reading or a new addressing of its origin, namely its relation to the modernism. Is postmodernism just a continuation or an unfinished project of modernism, or is it something entirely new? A similar dilemma, even more radical and enigmatic, concerns questions about the Other: is the Other, ultimately, radical alterity, irreducible in its uniqueness, or is it possible to incorporate the Other in some order of the Same?
This oscillation between two poles vibrates throughout various currents of postmodernism. Perhaps the easiest way to conceive of the Other in postmodernism is to associate it with some monstrous form: the living dead, zombies, psychopathic extraterrestrials, alien objects and creatures, androids, disgusting slimy beings invading our bodies, multiplying in our wombs; from horror to science fiction, all those uncanny, unfathomable appearances beyond (or beneath) the very category of Œthe human¹. A different approach to the Other in postmodernism, in a crude and simple way, could be summed up under the credo: the Other is produced by a discourse; various regimes of power make the Other visible, until it assumes the more concrete shape of the neighbour. Instead of the monstrous forms and the invasion of the uncanny, we have instead different aspects of the neighbour: Orientalism, imaginary cartography, the clash of civilisations, the stranger, the migrant, the national, the ethnic, the minority others and various symphonies of hybridism in a globalscape.
From this postmodern dilemma arise crucial questions: how do we answer to the call of the Other? Is the alterity which calls us, sheer otherness, the uncanny presence, the unnamable obstacle to representation, or is it possible to love Œthy neighbour¹ the Other? And finally, are we entering a phase in which it is possible to talk about the post-Other?
The goal of this conference is a multidisciplinary questioning of the concept of the Other from radical theorising in the context of the latest debate on the Same and Difference to vivid case studies refreshed and invigorated by Œnew examples¹. We picture the conference traversing a variety of theoretical concepts and topics, bringing together scholars of diverse backgrounds and interests.
Possible topics may include, but are not limited to:
· The other "Other" and the otherness of "Otherness¹ are we entering the stage of "post-Other"?
· Indivisibility of discursively produced (and thus discursively tamable) "Other"
· "Taming¹ the "Other¹ by disclosing sedimented discourses of power or by resisting productive subjugation to bio-power
· The "Other¹ in literature (in different literary genres; the "Other¹ as the subject¹s constitutive element in various narratives)
· Fear of the unknown and the construction of the "Other¹ (monsters, beasts, mass murderers)
· (Re)presentation of the "Other¹ in film
· Conspiracy theories and the construction of the "Other¹
· National, ethnic, gender and minority "Others¹
· Post-socialism and the "Other¹
· Global production of the local ŒOther¹ and vice versa local production of the global ŒOther¹
· Literary translation as the "Other¹ original
· Literature as non-art
· The "Other¹ in language when metaphor becomes methodology
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Eric L. Santner, Philip and Ida Romberg Professor in Modern Germanic Studies, Professor of Germanic Studies, The University of Chicago.
Stipe Grgas, Department of English, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zagreb
Call for Papers:
Proposals are invited from scholars from different fields and disciplines of humanities and social sciences for individual papers (30 minutes including discussion time).
Please send proposals (no more than 300 words in length) to rhss@unizd.hr by June 1st 2010. Selected papers will be published online.
Abstracts should be in Word or RTF formats and include the following: a) author(s), b) affiliation, c) e-mail address, d) title of abstract, e) body of abstract. Please use plain text (Times New Roman 12, Single Spacing, Justify) and abstain from using any special formatting, characters or emphasis (such as bold, italics or underline).
E-mails should be entitled: Postmodernism and the Other Proposal
We acknowledge receipt and reply to all proposals submitted. If you do not receive a reply from us within a week from your submission, you should assume we did not receive your proposal; in that case we suggest trying an alternative electronic route or resending.
The conference language is English.
Registration:
Full rate: 80 Euros. Postgraduate/ Unwaged: 40 Euros
Late registration fee is 100 Euros i.e. 50 Euros for postgraduate/ unwaged.
Dates:
Proposal submission deadline is June 1st 2010.
Registration deadline for all conference participants is July 1st 2010.
Final conference announcement and the program will be published August 15th
2010 on the conference website: http://www.rhss-conference.com
Additional Information:
The conference will take place at the University of Zadar (www.unizd.hr), Croatia. Additional information about travel arrangements, accommodation, and other practical details will be posted soon
on the conference website: http://www.rhss-conference.com
Or you can contact the organizers directly at rhss@unizd.hr
Please quote 10 Academic Resources Daily in your application to this opportunity!
