ASSOCIATION FOR GERMAN STUDIES IN GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND
CALL FOR PAPERS, 2015 LIMERICK CONFERENCE

(see also: http://ags.ac.uk/futmeet.htm)


DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS: 1st APRIL 2015

The next conference of the Association for German Studies in Great Britain and Ireland will take place at Mary Immaculate College (University of Limerick), 2–4 September 2015. The lead panel for the conference will be Adaptation, with further panels on History and Remembrance,  Linguistics, Gender Studies, Translation, Medieval and Early Modern Studies, Eighteenth-Century Studies, Nineteenth and Earlier Twentieth Century Studies, Twentieth-Century and Contemporary Studies.

If you are interested in contributing a paper to any of these panels, please send your proposal directly to the e-mail address of the conveners listed below. Proposals for papers should be 150-200 words and should reach the relevant conveners by 1 April 2015. (In case you would like to offer a paper that does not fall within the remit of any of the listed panels, please contact the Conference Secretary Frauke Matthes ([log in to unmask]).)

We also very much welcome proposals for special panels that focus on a particular theme. Please contact the Conference Secretary Frauke Matthes ([log in to unmask]) with proposals, which should include a brief outline of the panel (50-100 words) and abstracts of 3 papers (150-200 words), by 1 April 2015.


Lead Panel
Transnational Screen Adaptation: Cultural and Medial Hybridities

Convener: Christiane Schönfeld (Limerick); [log in to unmask]

The lead panel invites colleagues to explore the topic of adaptation from literary text to film in transnational, intercultural contexts. There are numerous examples of such adaptations involving German culture, in both directions. German, Austrian, and Swiss literature have inspired the international film industry from its very early stages, and many German-language films are adaptations of non-German texts. This panel will consider the complex issues arising when literary adaptations cross cultural borders and, moving beyond fidelity discourses, focus on topics such as relocation/dislocation, hybridization, re-inscription, multiculturalism, or national images, stereotyping and their political and ideological functions. Contributions relating to intercultural processes of transposition from text to film and other spheres of visual culture, as well as to subtitling, dubbing and music sound tracks in cross-cultural literary adaptations are also welcome. A publication based on the proceedings is planned. For further information contact [log in to unmask]


History and Remembrance

Conveners: Sara Jones (Birmingham); [log in to unmask] and David Zell (Birmingham); [log in to unmask] – Please send proposals to both panel conveners.

This panel will focus on the mobilisation of history and practices of remembrance for the purposes of identity construction. Papers could address issues such as Erinnerungspolitik and processes of memorialisation and musealisation, the reappraisal of historical narratives for political and ideological purposes, questions of ownership and history, or the preservation of collective memory through national traditions, rituals and anniversaries.


Linguistics

Convener: Melani Schröter (Reading); [log in to unmask]

This panel welcomes papers on any aspect of German and Germanic linguistics, including comparative studies, research on teaching German as a Foreign Language. Papers may deal with diachronic linguistics or trends in current usage, Second Language Acquisition, Language Policy and Discourse Analysis. A range of methodological approaches is welcomed, including corpus based studies as well as papers discussing conceptual approaches to the study of the German language.  


Gender Studies

Convener: Frauke Matthes (Edinburgh); [log in to unmask] 

This panel invites papers on any aspect of gender studies. The focus is on the various manifestations of masculinity and/or femininity in literature, visual culture, theatre, the media, theory and scholarship. Papers may deal with any period from the early modern period to the present day. The panel also encourages comparative papers. Proposals from postgraduates are particularly welcome.


Translation

Convener: Chantal Wright (Warwick); [log in to unmask] 

The Translation Panel invites contributions in one of two categories: 1) a theoretically informed discussion of a panelist’s literary translation (completed or in progress) that engages with recent developments in Translation Studies or 2) a traditional conference paper dealing with any facet of translation involving the German language (broadly defined), from any period. Topics in this latter category might focus on but are not limited to translation theory, translation history and translation pedagogy. Depending on the nature of the contributions, the panel may be structured as a workshop or a round table. Please contact the panel convener with proposals for papers or sessions.


Medieval and Early Modern Studies

Convener: Henrike Lähnemann (Oxford); [log in to unmask] 

Proposals are welcome for papers on any aspect of medieval German studies, the early modern period, or their reception in later periods. Contributions by postgraduate students will be particularly welcome.


Eighteenth-Century Studies

Convener: Steffan Davies (Bristol); [log in to unmask]

This panel invites papers on all aspects of eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century culture, including literature, theatre, visual culture, history and thought. The panel warmly welcomes comparative perspectives and work on the period’s reception. 


Nineteenth and early Twentieth-Century Studies 

Convener: Malcolm Spencer (Nottingham Trent); [log in to unmask] 

Papers are invited on any aspect of the culture of German-speaking countries in the nineteenth century and earlier decades of the twentieth century (up to about 1930), including literature, theatre, visual and musical culture and thought.  


Twentieth-Century and Contemporary Studies

Convener: Dora Osborne (Edinburgh); [log in to unmask] 

Papers are invited on any aspect of twentieth-century and contemporary German cultural studies. Appropriate subjects for this panel include literary, film and media studies (including work on the intersection between media), cultural history, and area studies. We would particularly welcome papers demonstrating innovative theoretical, methodological, and interdisciplinary approaches.