[ecrea] CFP: Memories of the Future, 2-3 May 2014

Call For Papers:

MEMORIES OF THE FUTURE



2-3 May 2014, London



Venues: Chelsea College of Art and Design (UAL) & Institute of Modern 
Languages Research



Keynote addresses:

Sir Christopher Frayling, Dr. Malcolm Quinn and Prof. Alberto Abruzzese





From our current ‘after the future’ position, where utopias have been 
crushed under the awareness that ‘the myth of the future is rooted in 
modern capitalism’ (Bifo), our imagination persistently draws on an 
extensive repository of symbols, forms and technologies rooted in 
history, imagination and memory. Yet, utopian visions of the future 
loomed large in the modern age, often fuelled by spectacular 
advancements in technology, applied arts and industries. Even though 
sequential temporalities and cyclical views of the past have become 
forcefully questioned by new technologies, the past is still a 
reservoir, repository and treasure-trove of cultural and symbolic 
signification which continues to be revisited and reconstructed 
imaginatively by individuals and communities. The further into the 
future you look, the further back in time you seem to get…. The 
conference will address questions such as: is memory scrambled, 
reversed, reconstituted? Is the future a thing of the past? Is ‘no 
future’ the new future? How do ancient myths and narratives construct 
future scenarios? How are myths and histories re-worked in contemporary 
artistic practises of the future present?

We welcome submissions on all areas related to suggested topics that 
include:



* future memory – postmemory, prosthetic memory and the storage of 
memory in the age of the social media;
* utopian and dystopian visions, myths of the future and revolutionary 
movements;
* future construction and reappropriation of the imaginary - myth, 
symbol, archetype, legend, fantasy, science-fiction and their 
contribution to imagining the future;
* future commodities, biopolitics, neo-liberalism and the turn of art, 
fashion and design in late capitalism;
* science, engineering and materials at the interface of fantasy and 
technology;
* the future of mechanization - toy-making, robotics, cyborgs, automata, 
androids and clones ;
* cyberpunk, steampunk and its derivatives (dieselpunk, biopunk and 
decopunk);
* time and space models - parallel universes, upward mobility and future 
ecologies;
* human/non-human – gene ethics, post-humanism, trans-humanism and the 
ethics of the interface human/gene machine;

In addition to traditional academic paper presentations, we encourage 
submissions using alternate forms, such as photographic works, art and 
design objects or multimedia presentations. Send a 250-word paper 
abstract to (memoriesofthefuture /at/ arts.ac.uk) with a mini-bio by Dec 1st. 2013.



Steering Committee: Deborah Jaffe (Researcher and Writer), Georgia 
Panteli (UCL), Emanuela Patti (IMLR), Katia Pizzi (IMLR), Stephen Wilson 
(Chelsea College of Art and Design (UAL).





Dr. Emanuela Patti



Institute of Modern Languages Research

School of Advanced Study

University of London

Stewart House

Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU.

Tel. n. 02078628962

Fax. n. 02078628672

Email: (emanuela.patti /at/ sas.ac.uk)



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