[ecrea] cfp Staging Illusion: Digital and Cultural Fantasy

Call for Papers: Abstract submission deadline 19th August 2011
Sussex Centre for Cultural Studies and the Centre for Digital Material Cult=
ure present:-
Staging Illusion: Digital and Cultural Fantasy
November 4th 2011, University of Sussex
> From magicians to immersive media and from the circus to cyborgs, the celeb=
ration and/or mistrust of illusion has been a central theme across a range =
of cultures. Notions of fakery and deception stand in opposition to fantasy=
 and escape; our identities are performative and we learn to present oursel=
ves as masked; and postmodern thinkers have criticised =91hyperreality=92 f=
or its capacity to entice consumption. Yet whilst ideas pertaining to =91cu=
ltural dupes=92 have long since been dispelled in academia, the figure of t=
he =91mark=92 of the fairground scam remains culturally ubiquitous, perhaps=
 more so than ever, in an era of (post) mechanical reproduction. Is new tec=
hnology a flight from the real or merely a continuation of older cultural f=
orms? Is it necessary, or even possible, to define reality in relation to t=
he illusory?
Seeking to place staged illusions across a spectrum of historical, geograph=
ical and cultural contexts, the conference invites topics that might includ=
e, but are not limited to:

=B7          (Virtual) Realities =96 video games, cyborgs, simulacrum, soci=
al media, new technologies, cosmetic surgery and body modification.

=B7         Magic and Miracles =96 hauntings, fantasies, the supernatural, =
the paranormal, magicians, impersonators and illusionists.

=B7         Spaces of Illusion =96 Theatres, fairgrounds, the circus, the m=
usic hall, virtual spaces/worlds, farms, zoos and theme parks.

=B7         Identity =91Imposters=92 =96 Identity politics, authenticity, t=
ransvestites, cross dressers and drag, transphobia, legitimacy, pretensions=
 and pretenders.

=B7         =91The Camera Never Lies=92 =96 art history, frauds, celebrity,=
 image manipulation, reality television, 3-d cinema, the magic of cinema.
We are now inviting the submission of abstracts for 20 minute papers repres=
enting a variety of approaches to and interpretations of the theme Staging =
Illusion from a range of disciplines.
Confirmed keynote speakers: Professor Vanessa Toulmin (Director of the Nati=
onal Fairground archive) and Doctor Sarah Kember (Goldsmiths). Other confir=
med plenary speakers include Doctor Astrid Ensslin (Bangor) and Doctor Mela=
nie Chan (Leeds Met).
Please email a Microsoft Word document containing your contact details, ins=
titution and position, along with a 400 word abstract to sccs-conf@sussex.a=
c.uk by 19th August 2011.



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