[ecrea] “Coming to Terms with Film-Philosophy” Confere nce plus Special Event and Masterclass with Alain Badiou

*CALL FOR PAPERS*

**

“*Coming to Terms with Film-Philosophy”*

*Conference plus Special Event and Masterclass with Alain Badiou*

**

*York University and TIFF Bell Lightbox*

*Toronto, Canada*

*May 16-17, 2016*

Although it has established itself as a sub-discipline or hybrid of film
and philosophy in various European formations, film-philosophy is
relatively new to North American cinema and media studies. As one of the
first in North America to nominate itself under its auspices, this
conference explores the mobilization of philosophical discourses and
projects relative to the modern event of cinema. More specifically, we
seek papers that address the origins of film-philosophy, in addition to
its current manifestations and future potentialities.

A highlight of this conference is the "Special Event: Onstage
Conversation with Alain Badiou" presented with TIFF Bell Lightbox.
Badiou, who has been called the most important philosopher since Gilles
Deleuze, is the author of numerous books and articles that have helped
define the major questions and contours of philosophy in the 20th and
21st centuries. He has taught at the Eìcole normale supérieure and the
Collège international de philosophie in Paris, as well as the European
Graduate School. In addition to his major philosophical works /Being and
Event/ and /Logics of Worlds/, his recent books translated into English
include /The Age of the Poets/, /Controversies: Politics and Philosophy
in our Time/, /Cinema/, /The Communist Hypothesis/, and /Wittgenstein's
Anti-Philosophy/.

In this onstage conversation moderated by Professor Ian Balfour of York
University, Badiou will speak about cinema, the recent events in Paris,
and the role that philosophy can play in helping us understand and act
in this historic context, accompanied by film clips that will bring
further dimensions to some of the discussion’s central themes. In
addition, there is a Masterclass with Badiou, where conference
participants will have an opportunity to further explore the
intersections of film and philosophy.

Some of the questions that inform this conference pertain to the
concepts and formations within film-philosophy relative to broader
discourses and practices in the humanities and beyond. For example: What
are the terms that film-philosophy deploys as it stands today? What are
the stakes of film-philosophy that it asks of itself in terms of its own
legitimization and what is expected of it by the broader discipline of
cinema and media studies? What transformations and problems in cinema
and media studies does film-philosophy respond to, interrogate, and/or
(re)conceptualize?

We seek papers that:

•historicize and (re)conceptualize the emergence of film-philosophy
and/or problematize it as a discipline or approach;

•situate film-philosophy relative to trends and developments in film and
cultural theory, contemporary media studies, new media, and other
disciplines in the humanities and social sciences;

•define and interrogate the concepts of film-philosophy (such as those
taken from, for example, phenomenology, deconstruction, or Marxism);

•ask about the stakes of major contemporary philosophers (Badiou,
Deleuze, Cavell, etc.) who engage with cinema as a philosophical model,
a problematic field, and/or a set of texts and examples for
philosophical speculation;

•discuss film-philosophy’s stance relative to debates in contemporary
developments in queer theory, critical race theory, postcolonial theory,
disability studies, environmental studies, and/or animal studies;

•enact film-philosophy in the engagement of cinematic texts and objects;

•examine the relationship between the “filmic” (cinematic, visual,
temporal, aesthetic) and the “textual” (discursive, written, etc.);

•explore the politics of film-philosophy, such as the relationship
between democracy and film (Badiou, Rancière, etc.) or cinematic ethics
(Levinas, Nancy, etc.);

•map out the contours and terrain of film-philosophy and world cinema(s)
(global film-philosophy);

•consider the relationship between film-philosophy and new trends in
philosophy in general, including speculative realism, new materialism,
anti-philosophy, and non-philosophy;

•conceptualize cinematic ethics, metaphysics, ontology, and/or
epistemology in light of recent developments in film-philosophy

We also welcome papers that deal with the work of contemporary film
theorists who engage with intersections between film and philosophy; for
example, Vivian Sobchack, Patricia Pisters, D.N. Rodowick, Noel Carroll,
Joan Copjec, Laura Marks, Hito Steyerl, or Steven Shaviro. We also
invite filmmakers and media practitioners to present and discuss their
work in a film-philosophical context.

**

“Coming to Terms with Film-Philosophy” will be held in Toronto, Canada
May 16-17, 2016.

Please send a 300 word abstract, brief bibliography, and bio (with
institutional affiliation, if applicable) as email attachments to
(yorkfilmphilosophy /at/ gmail.com) <mailto:(yorkfilmphilosophy /at/ gmail.com)> by
Friday, April 1, 2016. Notifications about acceptance or rejection of
proposal will be sent on Monday, April 4.

*Conference and Masterclass Registration Fees:*

Professors:

Conference Attendance: $100

Masterclass: $50

Graduate Students and Independent Scholars:

Conference Attendance: $50

Masterclass: $25

NOTE: "Special Event: Onstage Conversation with Alain Badiou” is free
for conference participants.

Conference website: https://yorkfilmphilosphy.wordpress.com/

Organized by the graduate students of Cinema and Media Studies, York
University, and cosponsored by TIFF Bell Lightbox.

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