Deadline for submissions: January 19, 2018
Full name/name of organization: West Virginia University English Graduate Student Union
Contact email: egsuconference@gmail.com
In her essay “Posthumanist Performativity” Karen Barad writes that she wants to understand “how matter comes to matter.” . New materialist scholars like Barad use “matter” as an anchor, closing in on the physical and metaphysical “matter” of politics, economy, ecology, technology, nature, and art. These scholars are shifting away from a framework of human representation to a framework of phenomena; eliding the anthropological and instead focusing on how they themselves are a part of an interconnected whole. From a literary perspective that “matter” is broadly defined and nebulous in its construction. It’s the coal that is buried in the southern hills of West Virginia in the works of Denise Giardina; the ocean water that surrounded Ahab; and the soundscapes that made up the world of Emily Dickinson. “Matter” provides the context of new materialist research and, more broadly, frames their attempts to navigate the perceivable (and often unperceivable, or strange) forces of the world.
The students of the English Graduate Student Union (EGSU) at the West Virginia University want to understand this “matter” as well. We invite you to join us in investigating this fascinating field of research and in exploring the material world we inhabit. The conference this year will be held March 10 th at the West Virginia University downtown campus in Colson Hall. This interdisciplinary conference seeks to look further at the multifaceted ways that we can think of and identify intersections between “matter” and “strangeness,” whether on a local, global, or individual scale. Guiding questions might include: What is strange about “matter”? What are the properties of materiality within a digital landscape? How does the Anthropocene affect our perceptions and evaluation of the material world? Beyond these, we urge you to broadly explore all questions of, or pertaining to, strangeness, “matter,” and material. You may consider one or many of the following categories, but should not feel limited to them.
● Ecocriticism and Environmental Studies
● American, British, and World Literatures
● Women and Gender Studies
● Critical Race Theory
● Popular Culture
● Liminality and Marginality
● Posthumanism
● The Gothic
● Disability Studies
● Hemispheric Studies
● Canonicity
● Adaptation and Representation
● Postcolonial Theory and Literature
● War and/or Trauma and Literature
● Film Studies and Film Theory
● Queer Theory
● Material Culture
● Architecture and Urban Planning
● Digital Humanities
● Sense Studies
Creative writing panels are also encouraged. Possible panel topics for creative writers might include how writers recognize their position as a part of the phenomenal world, the position or recognition of “matter” within their work, or the influences of outside genres on their work.
Proposal abstracts of 250 words should be submitted electronically to egsuconference@gmail.com by January 19th , 2018. All proposals should include the title of the work, presenter’s name, institutional and departmental affiliation (if available), any technology requests, and a brief bio. The subject line of your email should also indicate if your abstract is proposing critical or creative work.
For further details, updates, and contact information, contributors can visit the conference website at https://wvuegsuconference.wordpress.com/.
Notification of proposal status will be within two weeks of the submission deadline.