CFP: Panel (P007), SIEF International Conference, Zagreb, June 21-25 2015
*Colleagues*
We invite paper proposals for a panel at the 2015 SIEF International
Conference entitled *On Simultaneity: The Utopia of Play and Paradox in the
Making of Mundane Sociality*. The panel is convened by Dr. Matan Shapiro
(UCL and Haifa University) and Dr. Beata Switek (UCL and Max Planck
Institute, Halle). The discussant will be Prof. Don Handelman (Hebrew
University).
The conference will be held in Zagreb, 21-25 June 2015. *Please submit
abstracts by January 14* *through:*
http://nomadit.co.uk/sief/sief2015/panels.php5?PanelID=3488
*Abstract*
Philosopher Eugen Fink (1968) suggests that intrinsic to play is a property
of simultaneity: the capacity of players to be themselves from within a
play-zone and at the same time appear as others to themselves from without
that zone. This, he claims, collapses the ontological barrier between
reality and fantasy. To date simultaneity has mainly been studied in the
context of ritualized play and isolated heterotopic spaces such as
religious theme parks, sacred sites of pilgrimage, and shopping malls. The
globalization of technology in late-capitalism - especially the internet
and its derivatives - nonetheless takes simultaneity beyond demarcated
public events into the realm of everyday practice. Cross culturally
people play with currency (stock-exchange market), subjectivity (social
media, reality shows, online games), text (messaging, blogs), image
(Photoshop, Instagram) and sound (sampling) in ways that obscure the
singularity of place, figure, value, name and map. In that sense play and
simultaneity produce utopian spaces within the flow of everyday life,
wherein mutually-exclusive representations of self and other, local and
global or presence and absence temporarily fuse into
sublime perfection. What contextual situations entail the experience of
simultaneity in different cultural settings? Are they contingent on
particular technologies, techniques or manuals? In what ways these events
differ from framed ritualized contexts? Does the material dimension of
simultaneity attribute aesthetic values to utopia? What affects
characterize moments of simultaneity (e.g. embarrassment, rage, euphoria)?
Aiming for a comparative analysis of simultaneity we welcome papers that
present ethnographic theories of play, uncertainty and paradox in the
unfolding of mundane sociality.
Apologies for cross-posting.
Kind regards and a Happy New Year,
Matan and Beata
Dr. Matan Shapiro
Honorary Research Associate
Department of Anthropology
University College London (UCL)
14 Taviton Street
London
WC1H 0BW
U.K.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Anthropology Department
Haifa University
Mount Carmel
Israel
*************************************************************
* Anthropology-Matters Mailing List
* http://www.anthropologymatters.com *
* A postgraduate project comprising online journal, *
* online discussions, teaching and research resources *
* and international contacts directory. *
* To join this list or to look at the archived previous *
* messages visit: *
* http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/Anthropology-Matters.HTML *
* If you have ALREADY subscribed: to send a message to all *
* those currently subscribed to the list,just send mail to: *
* [log in to unmask] *
* *
* Enjoyed the mailing list? Why not join the new *
* CONTACTS SECTION @ www.anthropologymatters.com *
* an international directory of anthropology researchers
*
* To unsubscribe: please log on to jiscmail.ac.uk, and *
* go to the 'Subscriber's corner' page. *
*
***************************************************************
|