[ecrea] cfp - Failing Identities: Identification and Resistance

Failing Identities: Identification and Resistance
International Conference (University of Liège, 20-21 September 2018)
https://failingidentities2018.wordpress.com/

Contact: (letl /at/ uliege.be)

This conference aims to scrutinize, clarify and elaborate upon the 
concept of identity, which ranks among the most (ab)used concepts in the 
humanities since the end of the 20th century.

The popularity of the concept is, first and foremost, to be situated in 
the aftermath of the linguistic turn, which led to identity being 
conceived of as the product of discursive interpellations. This 
theoretical reframing of the subject constitutes the theoretical basis 
of multiple strands of discourse theory and analysis, and of various 
types of (post)poststructuralist theory.

The pervasive presence of identity as an object of study is, however, 
and to an even greater degree, also explained by the postmodern critique 
of universality and the concomitant deconstruction of the universal 
subject as a fiction subservient to particular (masculine, white, 
western, heterosexual…) interests. It is precisely this critique that 
drives the various forms of progressive identity politics that are so 
conspicuously present today.

To put it simply and provocatively: where do we go from here? This 
fundamental question translates into a wide range of more specific 
questions, such as:

    Is what (post)structuralism calls the decentred subject a mere 
passive recipient of discursive interpellations, or does it resist and, 
if so, in which way(s)? How should this resistance be understood – as an 
inability or rather as a refusal to accept discursive interpellations? 
As a rearticulation and ‘slanting’ of a given discourse? As a form of 
more or less subtle and agile negotiation with hegemonic pressures? As 
the articulation of a counterhegemonic discourse?

    How paradoxical and/or ambivalent are identification processes? If 
a seemingly official and explicit refusal often hides a more fundamental 
implicit identification (‘I am no racist, but…’) and vice versa (‘We are 
determined to tackle tax evasion’), how do both levels interact with one 
another and what audiences are they intended for? How can identificatory 
acts and utterances be construed as positioning the subject within the 
conflictual and dialogic contexts from which they emerged?

    How easy is it to cancel or replace identifications? Have 
‘postmodern subjects’ really become fluid and endlessly malleable in a 
‘liquid modernity’ (Zygmunt Bauman), or are they tough, inert and 
persistent? Do they have ‘hard kernels’ and, if so, what would be the 
nature of these? How important is the impact of discursive sedimentation 
on individual subjects, cultures and societies? How do deliberate or 
involuntary cancellations of identifications affect the subject? Are 
they emancipatory or destructive – or both?

    Does the postmodern critique of the universal subject not in fact 
continue to refer to a universal horizon of equality and justice? Should 
this critique be maintained or should it give way to a dialectical 
vision of the opposition between the universal and the particular?

    Are ‘progressive identity politics’ more needed than ever or are 
they at risk of becoming essentialist and unbearably reductionist stances?

    Are ‘progressive identity politics’ genuinely progressive or do 
they allow the researchers involved to view themselves as ‘progressive’? 
What makes them superior to traditional, conservative identity politics? 
Do they hamper attempts to unite progressive groups and efforts, uniting 
only ‘deplorable’ antiliberal, reactionary forces, as is argued by such 
varied authors as Eric Hobsbawm, Terry Eagleton, Slavoj Žižek, Vivek 
Chibber and Mark Lilla?

    What are relevant methodological underpinnings of research on 
identity and identification? Which linguistic means can be observed to 
index identity (as one of their multiple functions), and how can we 
classify them meaningfully? For example, how can such phenomena as taboo 
expressions, metaphors, language varieties (e.g. sociolects and slang), 
language contact and learner languages enhance our understanding of 
identity and identification? What about language policy and (official 
and unofficial) puristic movements?



Keynotes & discussants

Keynotes

Vivek Chibber
New York University
Communication: “Class and Resistance after the Cultural Turn”

Marc De Kesel
Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen
Communication: “Identity of/as Failing”

Philippe Hambye
Université Catholique de Louvain
Communication: “Invoking and questioning identity in sociolinguistics: 
scientific and political issues”

Discussants

Marc Delrez
Université de Liège

Joost de Bloois
Universiteit van Amsterdam

Johannes Beetz
University of Warwick



--
---------------
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
---------------