*EGE UNIVERSITY 13TH INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL STUDIES SYMPOSIUM* *May 04-06,
2011 - Izmir, TURKEY* *CHANGE and CHALLENGE*
I am not now That which I have been. *Lord Byron*
*Change* and *Challenge* are mutually inclusive, one breeding the other.
Heraclitus as early as 480 B.C. analyzed the meaning of life to be the
flux
of change, and declared that this aspect of reality is the only experience
that does not change. He based his observation on the hypothesis that flux
is an interaction between binary oppositions bringing about new unities.
His
ideas after a considerable span of time attracted modifications by the
German Idealists, especially by Hegel's philosophy of dialecticism. Thus,
within Western philosophical inquiry influenced by Heraclitus, change came
to be thought of as action challenged by reaction leading to synthesis.
Karl
Marx was later inspired to formulate historical process as class-struggle.
All of these theories had been initiated by denying the credibility of any
concept suggesting the existence of absolute truth. This denial had
flourished in the Western mind following upon the Renaissance and found
its
best expression in William James' American pragmatism claiming that
"ideas
in an ever changing process" are valuable as long as they are adaptable
to
real life situations.
After the 1950s, trauma-ridden human societies desperately searched for
solutions and emphasized the discontinuity of all experiences. What once
used to be appropriate about labeling biological features as 'female and
male', for instance, changed in accordance with the cultural and
historical
times of rejecting absolute truth. Hence, we witness the transformative
role
of culture on literature, as coined by Raymond Williams, carried forward
into the international sphere by Terry Eagleton. Furthermore, the absolute
ground of being and existence have been challenged by Foucault's
principle
of reversal and discontinuity: When there is dominance, there also will be
the modes of resistance to it. Dollimore's formula of "consolation",
"subversion" and "containment" is the extension of the well-known
earlier
dialectical construction. The Saussurian relation of "signifier" and
"signified" has come to be known as entities lending themselves to be
re-interpreted as endless new "composition". Concisely, the dichotomy
between "change" and "challenge" characterizes a wide range of social,
aesthetic, economic, political, cultural, and literary phenomena lending
itself to endless possibilities of discussions.
In the view of this overarching construct, we therefore invite and
welcome
submissions of papers of varied import: papers of theoretical,
interpretive
or expository nature from disciplines across the spectrum of
British-American and cultural studies enhancing our understanding of
changes
and transformations in relation to myriad aspects of literature,
linguistics, fine arts, architecture, film/media, communication, gender
and
political studies, critical theory, literary criticism, history,
psychology,
philosophy and sociology - all exploring the notion of *Change* as a *
Challenge*.
*Topics*(*and suggestive subtopics*):
-----Change and Challenge as Theme: stories, heroes, themes, images in
relation to metamorphosis, adaptation, transformation, mutation,
transition,
transcendence, evolution, revolution etc..
-----Academic Adjustments and Theoretical Innovations:eco-criticism,
eco-feminism, magic realism; post-modern, -feminist, -psychoanalytic,
-colonial, - apocalyptic approaches and narratives; reconsiderations of
language (bilingualism, heteroglossia, dialogism, pidgins); changing
fields
(i.e. Men's, Islamic, Arab-American, Middle-East Studies, Cyber-culture
inter-, trans-disciplinary studies, feminist geography) etc..
-----Altered, Adapted and Appropriated Texts:Translations, adaptations;
conflation of genres, (sub) genres, forms and techniques (i.e. non-,
docu-,
oto-, fictions, graphic novels, eco-poetry) "writing back" or responses
to
or revisions of earlier texts, meta-narratives; shifting techniques of
intertextuality, borrowing, plagiarism, etc..
-----Redefining Spatial and Temporal Perceptions:alteration of
territorial,
geographical, historical, limits, deterritorialization,
reterritorialization, changing spatial practices and space-power
relations,
fluidity, consumption of space, new spatial organizations and allocations,
(i.e. malls, hypermarkets, theme parks), hybrid spaces, intercity
relations
and the evolution of the urban hierarchy etc..
-----Alternating Cultural Paradigms and Politics:new cultural tensions in
representations, adaptation of multi-, bi-, inter-, intra-, cross- and
trans-regional/national/cultural structures and values, cultural nomadism,
digi-modernism, religion's changing role perforating cultural boundaries,
multinational productions, alliances, globalization, glocalization,
environmental, climatic change and changing political discourses etc..
-----Liminal Nature of Body and Identity:modified, hybrid, mixed,
post-human, cyber, trans-gender, queer bodies and identities, deviated
gender roles, altered and/or conversed race, class identities, new
landscapes of the self spatial identity etc.
-----Adaptation to Technological Advancements:Digital humanities,
Hyper-media, cyber-texts, virtual reality, multimedia literacy,
e-learning,
nodes (social networks like Facebook, Twitter) etc..
-
Along with individual papers, the conference committee welcomes
round-tables, workshops and performances.
-
The languages of the conference are English and Turkish.
(Please note that there will be no translations during the symposium.)
-
All abstract proposals are to be submitted to (css2011 /at/ mail.ege.edu.tr)
and
(cultural.studies2011 /at/ gmail.com)
*Submissions must contain the following fields:** *
-
First Name, Surname of Applicant
-
Title of Applicant
-
Title of Applicant
-
Institution and Country of Applicant
-
Email of Applicant
-
Title of Abstract
-
Abstract - 300 words maximum
-
Biography - 150 words maximum
-
Keywords - 5 maximum
Abstract Submission Deadline: DECEMBER 12th 2010
Acceptance Confirmation: JANUARY 16th 2011
*Contact Information:*
Prof. Dr. Atilla Silkü and Asst. Prof. Seçil
Saraçlı<(secil.saracli /at/ ege.edu.tr)> Dept.
of American Culture & Literature, Faculty of Letters, Ege University,
*Tel:* +90 232 311 19 74
*Fax:* +90 232 388 11 02
*Websites:* http://css.ege.edu.tr and
http://ake.ege.edu.tr<http://ake.ege.edu.tr/new/>
Seçil Saraçlı
CSS.2011
