Perhaps of interest.
R.
***
https://blogs.nyu.edu/projects/materialworld/2011/08/cfp_staging_illusion_digital_a.html
CFP: Staging Illusion: Digital and Cultural Fantasy
Call for Papers: Abstract submission deadline 19th August 2011
Sussex Centre for Cultural Studies and the Centre for Digital Material
Culture presents:
Staging Illusion: Digital and Cultural Fantasy, November 4th 2011,
University of Sussex
Confirmed keynote speakers: Professor Vanessa Toulmin (Director of the
National Fairground archive) and Dr Sarah Kember (Goldsmiths). Other
confirmed plenary speakers include Dr Astrid Ensslin (Bangor) and Dr
Melanie Chan (Leeds Met).
From magicians to immersive media and from the circus to cyborgs, the
celebration and/or mistrust of illusion has been a central theme
across a range of cultures. Notions of fakery and deception stand in
opposition to fantasy and escape; our identities are performative and
we learn to present ourselves as masked; and postmodern thinkers have
criticised 'hyperreality' for its capacity to entice consumption. Yet
whilst ideas pertaining to 'cultural dupes' have long since been
dispelled in academia, the figure of the 'mark' of the fairground scam
remains culturally ubiquitous, perhaps more so than ever, in an era of
(post) mechanical reproduction. Is new technology a flight from the
real or merely a continuation of older cultural forms? Is it
necessary, or even possible, to define reality in relation to the
illusory?, Seeking to place staged illusions across a spectrum of
historical, geographical and cultural contexts, the conference invites
topics that might include, but are not limited to:
(Virtual) Realities - video games, cyborgs, simulacrum, social media,
new technologies, cosmetic surgery and body modification.
Magic and Miracles - hauntings, fantasies, the supernatural, the
paranormal, magicians, impersonators and illusionists.
Spaces of Illusion - Theatres, fairgrounds, the circus, the music
hall, virtual spaces/worlds, farms, zoos and theme parks.
Identity 'Imposters' - Identity politics, authenticity, transvestites,
cross dressers and drag, transphobia, legitimacy, pretensions and
pretenders.
'The Camera Never Lies' - art history, frauds, celebrity, image
manipulation, reality television, 3-d cinema, the magic of cinema.
We are now inviting the submission of abstracts for 20 minute papers
representing a variety of approaches to and interpretations of the
theme Staging Illusion from a range of disciplines. Please email a
Microsoft Word document containing your contact details, institution
and position, along with a 400 word abstract to [log in to unmask]
by 19th August 2011.
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