[ecrea] Call for Papers- Ruin Porn: Essays on the Obsession with Ruin (Edited Collection)

*Call for Papers*

*Ruin Porn: Essays on the Obsession with Decay (Edited Collection)*
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*Abstract due date: November 1, 2016*

The newly-coined term ‘ruin porn’ provokes both obsession and criticism; 
signalling the eventual decay to which we will all invariably succumb, 
contemporary ruins inspire fascination and fear, a furious denial of our 
collective immortality and a wary flirtation with death. Contemporary 
ruins such as those found in Detroit and Chernobyl attract thousands of 
‘ruin tourists’ or ‘ruin photographers’, many of whom attempt to engage 
on a meaningful level with the existential threat that these sights 
arouse. The terrifying beauty that we associate with contemporary ruins 
appears to be a modern symptom of the post-natural, architectural sublime.

In lieu of ‘ruin porn’, which tends to focus solely on the aesthetic 
pleasure with which such sites are associated, Kate Brown talks of the 
concept of ‘rustalgia’ in her book /Dispatches from Dystopia: Histories 
of Places Not Yet Forgotten /(2014). For Brown, while some people speak 
of their ‘lustful’ attraction to such sites, ‘others will speak in 
mournful tones of what is lost, what I call rustalgia.’

Modern ruins are fascinating to us because they prompt interrogation 
into our place in the overarching narrative of history and utterly 
re-configure ordinary conceptions of time. As Tong Lam argues in his 
photographic work /Abandoned Futures: A Journey to the Posthuman World/ 
(2013), ‘in a way, we are already post-apocalyptic’.

How might we respond to the growing interest in contemporary ruins, and 
how does the term ruin porn strengthen or undermine this development? 
What does an obsession with ruin culture suggest about contemporary 
society, especially with the parallel emergence of anthropocentric 
discourse?

This essay collection seeks to produce a dialogue on contemporary ruin, 
ruin porn, and urban decay. Abstracts are invited that discuss topics 
on, but not limited to:

   * Ruins and catastrophe (environmental, economic, etc.)
   * Ruin photography, ruin photographers, and the aesthetics of decay
   * Ruins, ecocriticsm, and the anthropocene
   * Ruins and posthumanism
   * The term ‘ruin porn’ and its potential problems
   * Ruins, nostalgia, and solastalgia
   * Ruins, beauty, and the architectural sublime
   * Ruins and the conception of time, history, and progress
   * Ruins and war
   * Artistic and fictional depictions of decay
   * Abandoned cities and economic downturn
Interested authors should send abstracts of 350-500 words to 
(siobhan.lyons /at/ mq.edu.au) <mailto:(siobhan.lyons /at/ mq.edu.au)> by *November 1, 
2016*. Completed papers of approximately 5,000 words will be due in 
2017. Palgrave has expressed interest in the project.


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