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CALL FOR PAPERS
Challenging Cultures of Death:
Mercy Not Sacrifice
The Center for Gender and Women's Studies, Trinity College Dublin, and the
Institute for Feminism and Religion invite proposals for contributions to
our forthcoming event:
Challenging Cultures of Death: A cross-cultural dialogue imagining a
political and symbolic world based on life not death: mercy not sacrifice.
Background
The language of sacrifice and martyrdom, international and ecumenical,
permeates religious and political discourse and has been culturally
elaborated in countless ways. Some theorists argue that the totem secret of
our societies is that we periodically send out our young to die, thereby
replenishing our political identities. The Reformers and Counter-Reformers
challenged sacrifice, but now the sacrifice to end all sacrifices manifests
as the war to end all wars.
Keynote Speakers
Bracha L. Ettinger
Griselda Pollock
Anne Primavesi
Peggy Reeves Sanday
Genevieve Vaughan
Venue: Trinity College, Dublin.
Date: November 2 (Friday) through November 4 (Sunday), 2007.
Call for Papers
A multi-disciplinary event, we aim to bring diverse approaches to our
deliberations under the following headings: Theory, Resistance, and
Theology. Priority will be given to those taking a multi-disciplinary
synchronic perspective, and taking imaginative approaches to presenting that
maximize pre-event preparation (making papers available in advance) and
interactive modes of engagement with participants. We also hope to balance
incisive critique with concrete strategies for practical action.
Theory
Given the violent history of the 20th century, the threats facing humanity
and the Earth, and the resurgence of violent religious fundamentalisms in
the 21st century, Enlightenment optimism toward the social order has now
largely collapsed. Post-modernist thinkers variously interrogate the
libidinal economy (Lyotard), the sacrificial social contract (Kristeva),
biopolitics (Nietzsche, Foucault, Agamben), the culture of the death drives
(Lacan, Irigaray), and the violence of mourning (Klein, Fornari, Butler).
Invited proposals
. Proposals invited from any of the above perspectives that address
the question: Challenging cultures of death: mercy not sacrifice.
. That investigate the potential of the Matrixial Sphere (Bracha
Ettinger).
Resistance
In the most despotic regimes, isolated individuals (Bonhoeffer, Weil,
Berrigans, Day, Gandhi, Mandela, Starhawk, Aung San Suu Kyi), as well as
many conscientious objectors, have resisted cultural imperatives. What
enables them to resist?
Invited Proposals
. That investigate resistance from the perspective of group
psychology (political or psychoanalytic).
. That investigate disciplinary or spiritual practices that enable
resistance.
. That investigate the effects of parenting and violence.
Theology
The main Abrahamic faiths often represent their founding acts through
narratives of sacrifice. How does this relate to the cultural valorization
of death in combat, or martyrdom?
Invited Proposals
. That interrogate feminist, womanist and post-colonial approaches
to the political implications of sacrificial theories and theologies.
. That investigate current critiques of sacrifice (Girard, Irigaray,
Kristeva, Maccoby, Koenigsberg).
Directions: Participants wishing to present a contributed paper are invited
to submit online a 200 to 300 words abstract for consideration by the
conference committees. Abstracts should be sent by August 31st. All those
submitting proposals will be informed of the conference committee's
decisions by September 30th 2007 (at the latest).
Please read the procedures for papers before submitting.
Who Should Attend?
We hope to attract feminist theorists and activists committed to cultural
critique. Contributors should aim to make their work accessible to a wide
variety of participants at the event and, where appropriate, in potentially
publishable form later.
Procedures
Individual Papers
Individual papers should last no more than 20 minutes and your proposal
should include the following.
1. Title.
2. Abstract.
3. Biography.
4. Institutional or other affiliation and address.
5. Audio visual Requirements (If any).
Full Sessions
If you wish to organize a full session on a particular theme, the proposal
should include the information (above) for each contributor. Each session
should include a moderator, and three presenters. Sessions should last for
90 minutes in total.
Workshops
Workshops last 90 minutes. Proposers should submit the following:
1. Workshop title.
2. Rationale for workshop.
3. Biography.
4. Institutional affiliation and address.
5. AV requirements.
E-mail proposals to [log in to unmask]
Closing date for submission of proposals: August 31st 2007. We will process
proposals received in advance to facilitate travelling arrangements.
Deadlines
August 31st, 2007: Paper, Workshops, Session proposals.
September 15th, 2007: Notification of acceptance (at the latest).
October 1st, 2007: Reception of full papers and registration.
Papers will be accepted only from full registrants.
To download the registration form as a Word Document please click
<http://www.tcd.ie/Womens_Studies/events/IFR%20Registration%20Form.doc>
here.
To download the registration form as an Adobe PDF document please click
<http://www.tcd.ie/Womens_Studies/events/IFR%20Registration%20Form.pdf>
here.
Conference Procedures
Presenters: Intending presenters should ideally aim to provide papers in
advance (by October 1st - even in draft form) to be placed on our website
for registrants to read in advance. Our time together is limited, and should
be spent summarizing (briefly, for about five minutes), and then discussing
the papers, rather than reading them.
There are no limits on the length of the online papers, but bear in mind
that to encourage participants to read them in advance, they should be kept
short and presented attractively.
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