With apologies for cross posting, a reminder of the following forthcoming interdisciplinary research event being held at the University of Reading. 

REGISTER NOW - The event is free but please places are limited so please contact Lisa Purse ([log in to unmask]) at your earliest convenience if you would like to attend.

Please note that this is also the last opportunity to apply for a postgraduate travel bursary. 

Details of speakers, programme and travel bursaries available at http://insurgentmythandfictionsymposium.wordpress.com/. 

The Insurgent – Myth and Fiction: An Interdisciplinary Symposium 

21 June 2012, Minghella Building, University of Reading

This one-day symposium seeks to bring together scholars and researchers working in a range of disciplines to debate the figure of the insurgent.

In a post-9/11, post 7/7, post-Iraq and -Afghanistan world, the concept of the ‘insurgent’ has become highly politicized. Deployed repeatedly in British and US political and media discourse in relation to questions of national security, the ‘War on Terror’, and regime stabilization, the concept has often mutated to serve the needs of those who use it.

The symposium will invite reflection on the following key questions:

· What is the relationship between the realities of contemporary insurgency, and the myths and fictions elaborated by politicians, media commentators, and other groups? · How is the figure of the insurgent constructed in fictional and documentary contexts – in literature, film, art, television, news reporting? · What impulses underlie these multiplying and frequently in some way ‘fictionalised’ constructions of insurgency?

We are delighted to welcome the following keynote speakers to the event:

Professor Martin Barker (author of A ‘Toxic Genre’: The Iraq War Films) speaking on ‘Where have all the insurgents gone?’

Dr David Holloway (author of 9/11 and the War on Terror) speaking on ‘The Moral Clarity of Perpetual War: Deconstructing the Neocon Insurgency’

Registration is free and we welcome scholars and postgraduate researchers from any discipline who have an interest in the symposium’s subject. Please register for the event by emailing Dr Lisa Purse at [log in to unmask].

There are a small number of travel bursaries for postgraduate students. Please see the symposium webpages for more details. The deadline for applications for these is the end of Wednesday 13 June.

This event is supported by the Faculty of Arts & Humanities Minority Identities: Rights and Representation Research Theme and hosted by the Department of Film, Theatre & Television at the University of Reading.

We look forward to welcoming you to the event.

Dr Lisa Purse