Call for Papers
Witnessing the 60s
A decade of change in journalism and literature
Groningen, the Netherlands, 19th & 20th May, 2011
Abstract deadline: 10th February, 2011
Keynote speakers:
- Prof. John Hartsock (State University of New
York at Cortland, United States of America)
- Prof. Thomas Vaessens (University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
Call for Papers
This expert workshop aims to gain insight in the
entwined quest of both journalists and literary
writers to come to terms with the far-reaching
changes that took place roughly between 1960 and
1970. The sixties is shorthand for a ubiquitous
social, political and cultural upheaval in the
Western world with its culmination point in
1968. The changes were so encompassing and
impressive that many considered traditional ways
of making sense of the world no longer
sufficient; accepted cultural forms suddenly
seemed to lose their capacity to interpret reality.
These developments had a strong impact on
journalistic and literary practice. Both
journalists and literary writers experimented
with new forms, thereby stretching the limits of
their domains. Several influential journalists
turned to literature, which resulted in a form
of reporting still famous under the caption ?New
journalism?. Concurrently, certain authors felt
they could not ignore the sweeping developments
in society, and ? finding their usual forms
inadequate ? turned to journalistic forms of
reportage and documentary to satisfy their
sociopolitical engagement. Although these
journalists and literary authors had similar
goals, and were experimenting along the same
lines, there was nothing like a clear-cut
movement at this time. Writers and journalists
alike were discovering by trial-and-error ways
to represent the rapidly changing world around them.
Despite the attention that has already been
devoted to this period, the intersections
between literature and journalism have not been
studied extensively. The sociopolitical and
cultural changes that occurred in the 1960s have
mainly been examined from the perspectives of
sociology or political science, and focus
primarily on institutional change. Whenever
literary journalism in the 1960s is the object
of research, scholars devote their attention,
for the most part, on the American situation.
Compounding this situation is the fact that the
changing conventions in journalism and
literature are too seldom scrutinized from an
interdisciplinary perspective. The workshop,
?Witnessing the 60s?, aims to address this
shortcoming. We wish to study the entwined
journalistic and literary quest for adequate
forms to represent reality from a comparative
and interdisciplinary perspective, and we invite
scholars in the fields of literature, history,
and journalism to present their reflections and
analyses. We want to consider how the struggle
to represent the changing world of the 1960s
constituted new norms, and saw journalists and
authors alike employ various innovative routines and textual formats.
Papers of an interdisciplinary nature are
welcomed. We especially encourage contributions,
which centre on the following issues:
- The interdependence of the literary and
journalistic discourse in the 1960s -
Comparisons between the developments in the 60s
and other moments in time when journalism and literature drew close.
- The positioning strategies of the innovative authors
- The international dispersion of new norms and
forms, and the mutual influence between countries.
- Showcases of the manifestation of these
literary and journalistic developments in a certain country
- The comparison of similar developments in different countries
Guidelines : Those wishing to participate may
submit completed papers, early-stage drafts,
works in progress, or abstracts. Please ensure
all submissions contain a working abstract (to a
maximum of 400 words). Participants are advised
that the organizers wish to combine a selection
of essays from the workshop into an edited collection.
Deadline : Abstracts, along with full contact
information (title, name, affiliation, email),
should be submitted to (F.Harbers /at/ rug.nl) by
February 10, 2011. When your proposal is
accepted, rough papers (approximately 4000-6000
words) are expected by April 23, 2011.
Date : May 19th - 20th, 2011.
* Wednesday evening the 18th the workshop
will host a fairly informal get-together, as
participants will no doubt be arriving at
different times. The workshop runs Thursday
until Friday afternoon (around 14.00). Accommodation will be provided for.
Workshop Coordinators : Frank Harbers, PhD
Candidate, Dr. Ilja van den Broek, and Professor
Marcel Broersma, Groningen Centre for Journalism
Studies, University of Groningen
