[ecrea] CFP: Echoes of Fascism in Contemporary Culture, Politics and Society Conference

Echoes of Fascism in Contemporary Culture, Politics and Society
DEADLINE EXTENDED: MONDAY 27TH MARCH 2017

SUSSEX CENTRE FOR CULTURAL STUDIES
ANNUAL CONFERENCE FRIDAY MAY 26TH 2017

Keynote speakers include:
Angela Nagle (author of ‘Ireland Under Austerity’ and ‘Kill All Normies’)
Gholam Khiabany (academic and political journalist, author of ‘Blogistan’)
 ‘Every age has its own fascism’ – Primo Levi
 Within the past year, we have witnessed a number of alarming social 
and political developments in the UK but also globally. The success of 
the Brexit campaign in the UK, the election of Donald Trump in the USA 
and his recent imposition of a travel ban, have all been dependent on 
racially charged ideologies, and accompanied by a notable rise in 
racist, misogynist, and homophobic attacks in the UK and in other 
Western countries, as the Far Right mobilises and becomes more legitimated.
In broad terms, this conference poses questions around our ethical 
responsibilities (as academics, community organisations, and human 
beings) vis-à-vis these developments:
as the neoliberal consensus frays, how do we respond to resurgent 
nationalism?
how can, or should, we respond to the backlash against pluralism, the 
rise of the alt-right, and the waves of ‘populist’ movements that are 
sweeping across the West?
More specifically, the conference will provide an opportunity to 
consider the historical backdrop of contemporary conservative movements. 
Parallels have frequently been drawn in the media between, for example, 
1930s German fascism and the contemporary political and social 
landscape. We thus seek to question:
to what extent are we currently seeing ‘echoes’ of past fascist movements?
If every age has its own fascism, as Levi has argued:
can we learn from the history of fascist movements in a way that will 
help us to understand our contemporary situation?
Finally,
how can we put these lessons into practice as we mobilise against 
racism, misogyny, homophobia, and xenophobia?
 The conference will particularly be interested in (though not 
restricted to) papers on the following topics: past fascist movements 
and their bearing on the present; the rise of the alt-right and new 
right-wing populism, and the role of class within this; the right-wing 
critique of neoliberal globalisation and the space for alternatives; the 
current state of, and threats to, human rights, reproductive rights, 
rights of freedom of movement, LGBTQ rights, and social democracies; 
feminist activism (past and present); and racialised public discourse 
and the nationalist common-sense. We also invite papers that consider 
these issues through the prism of film, visual culture, literature, 
memory studies, creative practice, etc.
This conference will take place at the University of Sussex (Brighton, 
UK), and bring together people working in academia, community/activist 
organisations, think tanks and the media.
Please submit abstracts of max. 300 words to: (sccsconferences /at/ sussex.ac.uk)
Best wishes,
Matilda Mroz (conference director), Malcolm James, Sally R Munt, Robert 
Topinka, Victoria Walden of Sussex Centre for Cultural Studies

---------------
The COMMLIST
---------------
This mailing list is a free service offered by Nico Carpentier. Please
use it responsibly and wisely.
--
To subscribe or unsubscribe, please visit http://commlist.org/
--
Before sending a posting request, please always read the guidelines at
http://commlist.org/
--
To contact the mailing list manager:
Email: (nico.carpentier /at/ vub.ac.be)
URL: http://nicocarpentier.net
---------------