Entity and Identity in Bioethics, Paris International Conference

ENTIDENTIC 2012

The progress of genetics has strengthened the relation between body and identity at such an extent that a number of researchers have argued that DNA can be considered today what traditional religions and philosophical conceptions understood by one’s soul (Nelkin, Lindee). Moreover, the research on artificial life (alife) brings a new light on a posthuman age of a life-as-it-could be and influences the values adopted by contemporary societies. New communication and entertainment technology supports this ideal. In a world dominated by the ideas of securing the comfort of the individual and of the perfection of the human being, minority categories of disabled persons seem threatened by a large majority of normal persons. Award winning films as Breaking the Waves (von Trier 1996), The Sea Inside (Amenabar, 2004) and Million Dollar Baby (Eastwood, 2004) have contributed to the idea that certain impairments reduce the person to a mere entity. Stereotypical norms of beauty usually diminish the importance of the sexual attractiveness of disabled people, and bring individuals that suffer from genetically transmissible diseases not to wish to have offspring. The possibility of choosing the sex or the sexual orientation of the child before birth, or the abortions made with the purpose of preventing children with various impairments being born, raise questions on the identity of the entities that are destroyed or preserved and on the different mentalities regarding life, identity and the concept of person in the contemporary world.

In response to such contemporary innovations more traditionalist points of view assert a wider identity that comprises the development and self-fulfilment of the person from the moment of her conception until the moment of her death, and sometimes even beyond death. Some of them even go further by associating current practices with evil and revert to more traditionalistic forms of medicine or simply to prayers in order to heal someone from curable or incurable diseases, to help infertile couples give birth to offspring, to perform ritualistic surgeries on the human body (in order to confer a certain identity to it) etc. Among these practices, some are considered dangerous for the identity of the person on which they are performed, as for example female circumcision.

The purpose of this conference is twofold: firstly, to engage researchers with different cultural, political, philosophical, religious backgrounds in a debate on the close relation between entity and identity in bioethics and secondly, to obtain a better theoretical understanding of the identities of those that engage in bioethical debates (for instance, in what degree one’s belonging to a Muslim, Christian Protestant, Orthodox, Catholic, Buddhist or Black community etc influences his/her arguments for or against some practices or affects her interest in certain issues).

The International Conference will take place at Ecole Polytechnique, Paris from 23 to 24 April 2012 at and it is organized by Ars Identitatis Cultural Research Association.

The proceedings will be published (after peer review): some in paperback format, the others in electronic format.

Ars Identitatis encourages interdisciplinary debates, that is why we are inviting anyone who could contribute to this debate (Professors, Researchers, Journalists, NGO activists, Lawyers, Clerics, etc.). Submissions from graduate students are also encouraged.

We accept both Panel proposals and Individual abstracts. Individual abstracts should be of no more than 450 words in length. Those who intend to send individual abstracts are kindly requested to submit also a short bio note.

The person who submits a panel proposal is kindly requested to send us a short Curriculum Vitae (one page) together with a presentation of the panel and the abstracts. The other panelists should send only a short bio-note. Each panel proposal should contain at least two abstracts.

The deadline for sending abstracts is February 10 but we encourage early submissions, in order to allow the selection commission to have enough time for deliberation.

We will acknowledge receipt of your abstract. In case you don’t receive any reply from us after 3 days, please resend your abstract.

Ars Identitatis is an independent non-profit association. We are making efforts to keep as low as possible the logistics costs related to the conference and to the publication production process.

Please send your materials and address your enquiries to Ms. Silvia Stoica (President of Ars Identitatis) Mr. Ionut Untea (PhD candidate, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes) and Ms. Andrada Maran (Ecole Polytechnique) at registration[at]identitatis.org

For updates, please visit http://www.ars.identitatis.org/

Keywords (non-exhaustive list): bioethics, entity, identity, public stigmatization, miraculous healings, biobanks, DNA, substantial identity, self-consciousness, future of value and identity, persistent vegetative state, anencephalic infants, female circumcision, harmful traditional practices in general, exorcism, the child’s right to identity, pre-embryos, experimentation and genetic engineering, drugs and medicalization, artificial life (alife), artificial intelligence (AI), posthuman, communication and biotechnologies, cyborg, conjoined twins, eugenics, euthanasia, end of life questions, prenatal diagnosis, bioethics and film, bioethics and literature, disabled people, ethnic conceptions, ageing, deafness, cochlear implantation, surrogate mother, family by choice, LGBT, ‘nature’ and ‘nurture’, self-demand amputation, philosophical and religious traditions on bioethics, reproductive liberty, fetus, ‘‘intentional’’ family, transsexualism, insemination, transplant and identity transfer, etc.

Conference website: http://marxpsyconference.teocripsi.com/index.php

Abstract submission deadline: 15 March, 2012

Key-speakers and special participants include: Guillermo Delahanty, Anup Dhar, Fernando González-Rey, Raquel Guzzo, Grahame Hayes, Lois Holzman, Gordana Jovanovic, Lynne Layton, Athanasios Marvakis, Raúl Páramo-Ortega, Hans Skott Myhre, Ian Parker, and Lawrence Wilde.

Invitation to the Second Marxism and Psychology Conference

On behalf of the organising committee, it is our pleasure to invite you to the Second Marxism & Psychology Conference, which will be held from 9 to 12 August 2012, at the Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, located in Morelia, Michoacán, Western Mexico. Like the first conference in Prince Edward Island, Canada, this second conference aims at bringing activists, students and scholars together to discuss exciting issues at the intersection of Marxism and Psychology. 

As contemporary psychology goes through these times of crisis, revolts and protests around the world, we need to reflect again on the significance of Marxism for psychological scholarship and practice. We know that different fields of psychology have already been permeated, questioned, challenged and concerned by Marxist theory and practice during the last century. Currently several scholars and activists recognize the potential for Marxism to transform psychology. A number of them acknowledge the increasing role of Marxist theory and practice in their scientific pursuits and political activities. And many scholars make research on the historical and current positions in the intersection of Marxism with psychology.  At present, however, there still are relatively few opportunities for all these people to exchange their findings and their views on this essential topic. 

We believe that this Second Marxism & Psychology Conference will be a unique intellectual forum to encounter different and often competing views on Marxism from the different fields of psychology and other disciplines, as well as an excellent opportunity for scholars and activists to meet again and introduce a new generation of psychologists to the Marxist perspective.

Conference topic areas include: Marxist Psychology, Marxism and Educational Psychology, Marxism and Clinical Psychology, Marxism and Social Psychology, Marxism and Critical Psychology, Marxism and Psychoanalysis; Marxism, Humanism and Humanistic Psychology; Marxism, Feminism and Psychology; Marxism, Liberation Psychology and Community Psychology; Activity Theory and Cultural Historical Psychology.

The site of the conference, the city of Morelia, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its well preserved colonial buildings and layout of the historic center. The Mexican Federal Government lists 1,113 old buildings having historical value, including the impressive cathedral, 4 important monasteries, 3 convents, 4 old colleges, many large churches and palaces, and some buildings of the Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, the oldest institution of higher education in the New World, founded in 1540 by Vasco de Quiroga. Also in Morelia is the first music conservatory in the Americas, the Conservatorio de las Rosas, established in 1734.

For further information, visit the website of the conference:

http://marxpsyconference.teocripsi.com/index.php

If you have any question, don’t hesitate to contact us to:

marxpsyconference@gmail.com

Sincerely,

David Pavón Cuéllar and Jorge Mario Flores Osorio

The major question that we want to explore during this international conference is: What is the place and role of anamnesis for the shaping of contemporary identities?

In the sphere of this general question a series of more specific topics could be addressed (this only an indicative list): history as mere information or as a tool for shaping national or communal identity?, immigration and remembering one’s origins, naturalization and appropriation of identity as remembering a past that did not previously belong to one’s identity, Is identity given or constructed and entirely flexible?, old and contemporary myths and identity, the role of iconic figures that influence shaping contemporary identities, “idols” and “demons” in contemporary world, new forms of rituals, education and anamnesis, family life and anamnesis, amnesia and anamnesis, hate and anamnesis, racism, diplomacy or wars and anamnesis, theatre and literature of remembering one’s past, addiction and anamnesis, etc.  

The International Conference will take place in Paris, at Université Sorbonne Paris IV, 108 Bd. Malesherbes, Paris, France, and it is organized by Ars Identitatis Cultural Research Association.  

Case studies and more theoretical approaches are welcome as long as they concentrate on the close relation between anamnesis and identity. The final paper should contain an evaluation part in which the author should formulate possible answers to the general question announced above.

The proceedings will be published, after the peer reviewing process, either in paperback or electronic format.

Ars Identitatis encourages interdisciplinary debates, that is why we are inviting anyone who could contribute to this debate (Professors, Researchers, Journalists, NGO activists, Lawyers, Clerics, etc.). Submissions from graduate students are also encouraged.

We accept both Panel proposals and Individual abstracts.

Each panel proposal should contain at least two abstracts. The person who submits a panel proposal is kindly requested to send us a short Curriculum Vitae (one page) together with a presentation of the panel and the abstracts. The other panelists should send only a short bio-note.

Individual abstracts should be of no more than 450 words in length.

Those who intend to send individual abstracts are kindly requested to submit only a short bio note.

The deadline for sending abstracts is July 30, but we encourage early submissions, in order to allow the selection commission to have enough time for deliberation.

We will acknowledge receipt of your abstract. In case you don’t receive any reply from us after 3 days, please resend your abstract.

The deadline for registration is September 1^st. Ars Identitatis is an independent non-profit association. We are making efforts to keep as low as possible the logistics costs related to the conference and to the publication production process.

Please send your materials and address your enquiries to Ms. Silvia Stoica (President of Ars Identitatis) Mr. Ionut Untea (PhD candidate, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes) and Ms. Daniela Iancu (EPHE) at registration[at]identitatis.org

For more information and updates please visit www.ars.identitatis.org

We are seeking contributions on different forms of corruption and on special aspects of corruption in different cultures, historical times, and juridical systems. The major questions which will be discussed during this international conference are: Do phenomena of corruption evolve over time, or remain as primitive as in their first manifestations? What is the impact of these phenomena on forging the identity of certain individuals, communities or nations? Is the ideal that corruption disappear one day utopian?

CORHICS International Conference will take place in Paris from 7 to 9 September 2011 at Paris 1 Sorbonne University and it is organized by Ars Identitatis Cultural Research Association.

Possible topics (only indicative list) include: corruption and the writing of history, corrupted laws, corrupted political or religious figures, corruption in political systems, totalitarianism and corruption, „false” cases of corruption, iconic corrupted figures, the „angels” and „demons” of corruptions, positions of secret societies in history on corruption, specific laws on corruption and their different effects in different historical times, race and corruption, corruption during wars, sexual scandals, the theatre and/or the literature of corruption, implementation of state policies and corruption, the psychology or philosophy of corruption, corruption during revolutions, corruption and economy, manipulation, brain washing techniques, „enhanced” interrogation techniques, medication and side effects, religious fundamentalism, censorship, millenarian politics, utopian politics and corruption, postcolonial society and corruption, representations of corruption in art, translations and corruption, film depictions of corruption cases, rhetorics of corruption, etc.

The proceedings will be published (after the peer reviewing process): some in paperback format, the others in electronic format.

The conference and publication languages are English and French.

Ars Identitatis encourages interdisciplinary debates, that is why we are inviting anyone who can contribute to this debate (Professors, Researchers, Journalists, NGO activists, Lawyers, Clerics, etc.). Submissions from graduate students are also encouraged.

We accept both Panel proposals and Individual abstracts.  Each panel proposal should contain at least three abstracts. The person who submits a panel proposal is kindly requested to send us her short Curriculum Vitae (one page) together with a presentation of the panel, the abstracts and the bio-notes of the contributors to the proposed panel (450 words).

Individual abstracts should be of no more than 450 words in length.

Those who intend to send only individual abstracts are kindly requested to submit also a short bio note.

The deadline for sending abstracts is August 1^st, but we encourage early submissions, in order to allow the selection commission to have enough time for deliberation.

We will acknowledge receipt of your abstract. In case you don’t receive any reply from us after 3 days, please resend your abstract.

The deadline for registration is August 20. Ars Identitatis is an independent non-profit association. We are making efforts to keep as low as possible the logistics costs related to the conference and to the publication production process.

Please send your materials and address your enquiries to Ms. Silvia Stoica (President of Ars Identitatis), Mr. Ionut Untea (PhD candidate, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes) and Ms. Teodora Rogozea (Paris 1 Sorbonne University) at registration[at]identitatis.org

For more information and updates please visit www.ars.identitatis.org

We intend to publish a series of paperback volumes entitled Contemporary Identities (two volumes per year, one on a specific subject, the other miscellaneous). In order to make the selection process for the volumes as competitive as possible, we will organise a preliminary conference, which will take place in Paris at Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, from 13 to 16 April 2011.

The conference and publication languages are English and French.

Send us your abstract on topics that fit in the wide range of how Identity is constructed and interpreted in the contemporary world. We welcome enquiries on any type of identity: ethnic, religious or non-religious, spiritual, sexual, political, identity related to gender, family, friendship, street culture, art, fashion, age, mentality, economy, war, crime, love, comparisons between mentalities of the same communities in different historical or economical periods, heroes, saints, myths, etc.

We accept both case studies as well as more theoretical approaches.

After the conference, the panellists will participate in the selection process and choose the best papers in order to create coherent and attractive publications. 

Every panel proposal should contain at least three abstracts. Individual abstracts should be of no more than 450 words in length. Ars Identitatis encourages also submissions by younger and competitive scholars and postgraduates.

Those who want to submit a panel proposal are kindly requested to send us a short Curriculum Vitae (one page) together with a presentation of the panel and the abstracts of the papers. Those who intend to send individual abstracts are kindly requested to submit a short bio note.

The deadline for sending abstracts is February 20, but we encourage early submissions, in order to allow the selection commission to have enough time for deliberation. 

We will acknowledge receipt of your abstract. In case you don’t receive any reply from us after 3 days, please resend your abstract.

The deadline for registration for the conference is March 13. We are making efforts to keep as low as possible the logistics costs related to the conference and to the publication production process.

Please send your materials and address your enquiries to Ms. Silvia Stoica (President, Ars Identitatis), Ms. Léa Agboh (Consultant) and Mr. Ionut Untea (PhD candidate, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes) at ars.identitatis@yahoo.com . For more information and updates please visit www.ars.identitatis.org

Spawned by the linguistic turn, and in psychology specifically by the narrative turn associated with the names of Theodor Sarbin and Jerome Bruner, language became the central focus in many areas of the social sciences. The special issue of the German Journal für Psychologie aims to look behind the curtains of this development to investigate the meaning of language for our understanding of psychic life as the core subject matter of psychological investigations. Specifically, language shall be investigated with respect to its critical potential for psychology in particular and the social sciences more generally.

The works of Giambattista Vico and Johann Gottfried Herder mark an important starting point for two different developments in the conceptualization of language. The positivistic approach regards language as a tool, used by actors to communicate. Language is seen to be a specifically human ability, a system to be investigated. It is merely used in order to describe reality, from which it is completely detached. Hence, language is not seen to be actively creating something, but merely an ability to describe and capture reality.

In contrast, the aim to define language can also be understood as an investigation into the being-in-the-world of subjects. The major categories such as ‘world’, ‘reality’, ‘nature’, ‘humanity’ may be counterposed or related to the category ‘language’, but it seems clear that all categories, including the category ‘ language’, are themselves constructions in language, and can thus only within a particular system of thought be separated from language for relational inquiry. Thus, language is not seen as a passive tool but as the active praxis of subjects to create the world. Fundamental for this understanding are the works of Mikhail Bakhtin. He introduced a new understanding of the ‘sign’ which is never equivalent to what it signifies, but instead derives its meaning from social convention. Bakhtin, therefore, not only rejects a positivistic understanding of language but also de-individualizes language and renders it a social element which makes possible collaborative action. It was Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky who utilized these insights for psychology by studying the internalization of these social signs in the process of language acquisition.

Another point of departure for investigations into language can be found in the works of Karl Marx. His ideas and concepts are present – even though implicitly – in the works of Bakthin as well as the Vygotsky School. Similarly implicit is the way in which Marx treats the phenomenon of language. Most commonly quoted are the Theses on Feuerbach, in which an idealistic understanding of language is countered with a dynamic-dialectical approach. Language is thus rendered as practical consciousness and combines the creative and active character of language with its analytic character.

While the above outlines only a few approaches among many to a critical understanding of language, this special issue of the Journal für Psychologie aims at exploring language as a concept that is capable of critique. Is language emancipatory per se, creative, and as such critical? Or do we need a specific concept of language in order to unfold its critical potential? Is it possible to deconstruct existing illusions, ideologies and fetish form by means of language? And most importantly: To what extent is it possible to envision a critical psychology that utilizes the power of language?

Abstracts (approx. 2 pages) should be submitted to mdege@clarku.edu no later than August 31, 2010.

http://www.socialscienceblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/cfp191en.pdf

Thursday, 8 July 2010 * 6:30 – 7:37:30 pm
“Auto/biographical reflections on personal and
other legacies: Much more than money”
The Phil Salmon Memorial Lecture by Gayle Letherby, University of Plymouth

Friday, 9 July 2010 * 9:00 – 9:50
“Reflections ns in the Hall of Mirrors: emotion,
history, and the self,” by Michael Erben and Hilary Dickinson

“Looking for my reality: Touching the social
sensibility of sports coaching,” by Jake Bailey, U.W.I.C.

9:55 – 10:45
“The phenomena of social networking siites in
developing digital identities,” by Jenny Byrne, University of Southampton

“We are Hoo’: Negotiating the legacy of
Hearingness,” by Rachel Sutton-Spence and Donna West, University of Bristol

11:00 – 11:50
“When Mums & Dads die: Insights from an
ethnographic study of young people, living with
bereavement,” by Andrew C. Sparkes and Joanne Brewer, University of Exeter

“Michael Kidner’s Legacy,” by Sybil Myerson

11:55 – 12:45
“Secrets,, lies & family stories,” by Clare Lomas, London College of Fashion

“All that we leave behind: Midwives, mothers and
memories,” by Faye Sutton, University of Plymouth

2:00 – 2:55
“Legacies,” by Josie Abbott and Maggie Boniface,
Universities of Southampton and Chichester

“Legacy or gift and what difference does it
make?,” by Sue Lovell, Griffith University

2:55-3:45
“Women’s theatrical memoirs-âEUR”revolutionising
eighteenth-century historiography,” by Julia
Swindells, Anglia Ruskin University

“The legacy of the lie: Hidden objectivity and
the experience of being,” by Clair Morrow, Goldsmiths

4:00- 4:50
“Memories of a remarkable woman: Pasa
KavazoviÄŸ, her place in the histories of
genocide and reconstructive surgery,” by Jennifer Hargreaves

“’You were quiet. I did all the marching’:
Challenges in hearing the voices of South Asian
girls,” by Anne Chappell and Geeta Ludhra, Brunel University

Saturday, 10 July * 9:00 – 9:50
br>”Witnessing, false witnessing and the legacies
of suffering,” by Sidonie Smith and Julia Watson,
University of Michigan and Ohio State University

9:55 – 10:45
“Putting down the baggage: Occupational
therapists’ art and narratives of moving on,” by
Teresa Job, University of Southampton

“Diaries and letters as legacies: Spanish women
writers in exile,” by Maria-José Blanco, University of London

11:00-11:50
“Fragments: A legacy concealed and revealed in
creative methods,” by Kay Inckle, Trinity College Dublin

“The legacy of self-inflicted death-picking up
the pieces via the internet,” by Saffron Sccott, University of Southampton

1:55 -“ 12:45
“Legacies Art Workshop”

“Things my mother taught me: Everyday phrases and
social contexts,” by David Morgan, University of Manchester

For the full program and registration
information, contact Michael Erben at
michaelerben@gmail.com or Gill Clarke, School of
Education, University of Southampton, Southampton SO 17 1BJ, UK.

STORYTELLING

Bewitching the Modern Mind

By CHRISTIAN SALMON

Published 22nd March 2010

—————————–

EVENTS:

8 April, 1pm at the RSA, London: ‘Storytelling: How narratives shape our
reality, ideas and behaviour’. For more information and book your free place:
http://www.thersa.org/events/our-events/storytelling-how-narratives-shape-our
-reality,-ideas-and-behaviour
<http://www.thersa.org/events/our-events/storytelling-how-narratives-shape-ou
r-reality,-ideas-and-behaviour>  

8 April, 6.30pm at the ICA, London: ‘Making Believe’, with Julia Hobsbawm,
founder of media analysis and networking firm Editorial Intelligence and
pioneer of ‘integrity PR’, and Neil Boorman, author of Bonfire of the Brands.
Chaired by ICA director Ekow Eshun. For more information and booking:
http://www.ica.org.uk/?lid=24203 <http://www.ica.org.uk/?lid=24203>  

—————————–

“French writer Salmon here treats us to the useful spectacle of a relentless
polemic against a ubiquitous idea widely held to provoke only positive
feelings. As used by branders or politicians, “storytelling” is, on his
argument, a sedative, suppressing the desire for truth in favour of
satisfying narrative form.” Steven Poole, Guardian

“This book, which is both concise and clearly written … guides us through
these texts which are largely unknown and now very influential.” Le Monde

“There are certain books that make you feel less stupid after reading them
than before. … It is a fascinating and never jargon-heavy book.” Le Progres

“Lively, very well informed and slickly handled.” Les Inrockuptibles

—————————–

Some stories tell of real, lived experience, passing on its lessons: telling
stories is an art that has been cultivated by humanity and lies at the heart
of the social bond. Others mask reality and distort the truth, concealing
reality rather than elucidating it: these stories, Christian Salmon argues,
work to convince people to believe in the existence of WMDs and buy things
they don’t need.

Through groundbreaking research, Salmon builds upon Naomi Klein’s No Logo for
the Internet age, Salmon examines how storytelling has been exhumed and
employed by the same PR and marketing and management gurus who sold the world
brands before products. Narrative history is the triumphant successor to the
image or brand as the weapon of choice to format the minds of consumers – and
citizens.

Behind the advertising campaigns for heritage brands such as Chivas Regal
(“Live with Chivalry” i.e. like Frank Sinatra) and the founding stories of
all-natural, ‘ethical’ brands such as Innocent and Ben & Jerry’s- but also in
the shadows of victorious electoral campaigns from Bush to Sarkozy hide
“storytelling management” and “digital storytelling” technicians. Salmon
argues “Obama turned political storytelling into a new rhetorical art”; the
Obama legend shows how the construction and marketing of politicians’ life
stories is key to their electoral success.

With the journalist’s nose for a story, the lucid mind of an analyst, and the
keen affinity with the nuances of narrative as a literary critic, Salmon’s
rigorous research untangles the

worldwide web of discourse. From the world as painted by Fox News, training
videos for soldiers made by the Pentagon in collaboration with Hollywood, and
the Enron house of cards, Salmon finds fabulous artificers weaving the
reality of our world.

As well as in the commercial company and on the political level, Salmon also
detects the creeping impact of storytelling strategies across the judicial
system in the rise of surveillance and profiling. But where this threatens
individual freedom, citizens are increasingly distracted by telling stories:
a new blog is started every second, and a 2006 report entitled “A Portrait of
the Internet’s New Storytellers” found that “seventy-seven percent of
bloggers are interested only in talking about “my life and experiences.”

Salmon founded the International Parliament of Writers in 1993 as a human
rights organization that would create awareness of writers living in
oppressed circumstances and offer them something concrete. A key media and
cultural figure, Salmon has published over ten books in his native France.
Salmon has already caused a media storm with Storytelling and is set to do
the same here with his exposure of the Scheherazades in the White House and
Whitehall who have hijacked the human imagination.

—————————–

AUTHOR: Christian Salmon is a writer and researcher in the Centre for
Research in the Arts and Language at the CNRS in Paris. He is the founder of
the International Parliament of Writers, of which he was president from 1993
to 2003 and editor of the organisation’s journal Autodafe. He has worked as a
literary critic and is the author of several works, including Kate Moss
Machine, Verbicide and Devenir minoritaire and writes a regular column for Le
Monde.

——————————-

ISBN: 978 1 84467 391 9 / $24.95 / £14.99 / CAN$31 / 192 pages

On October 28th, the conference will begin with a round-table discussion by a
range of practicing (auto)biographers and scholars in this field. Among the
participants will be Rebekah Bloyd (USA), Sharon Butala (Canada), Donna
Coates (Canada), Amanda Hale (Canada), Theresa Kishkan (Canada), Raili
Marling (Estonia), Thomas McConnell (USA), Libora Oates-Indruchová (Czech
Republic), Richard Pickard (Canada), Randall Roorda (USA), Christopher Stuart
(USA), and Aritha Van Herk (Canada). A special issue of the bi-annual
scholarly journal “Brno Studies in English” (a print and open-source,
peer-reviewed publication of the Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University), an
issue devoted to papers by these individuals and others, will be published
and made available by September 2010. This publication will serve as the
object of consideration during the round-table discussion.

The two-day conference that will follow will be comprised of seminars and
workshops on Transgressive (Auto)Biography. Some of the areas that will be
addressed are biography in fiction, dialogic (auto)biography, fictionalized
biography, innovative biography, literary biography, metabiography, pastoral
biography, and personal nonfiction.

Although there is no registration fee, please send an email by 15 September
2010 letting us know that you will be attending.

If you are interested in presenting a paper, an (auto)biographical essay,
workshop materials, or a poster at the conference, please send an abstract by
1 June 2010.
Michael Matthew Kaylor, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of English and American Studies
Faculty of Arts
Masaryk University
Arna Novaka 1
602 00 Brno
Czech Republic
Email: kaylor@mail.muni.cz
Visit the website at http://www.phil.muni.cz/wkaa/home/conference/biography

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS EXTENDED UNTIL 14TH APRIL 2010

The Biographical Narrative in 21st Century Film and Television

POSTGRADUATE SEMINAR SERIES

THURSDAY 27TH MAY & THURSDAY 3RD JUNE 2010

This seminar series welcomes proposals for papers from postgraduate students
that consider the biographical narrative, the ‘Biopic’, in cinema and
television of the last decade.

Despite its status as one of the most commercially and critically successful
film and television genres of the 21st Century the Biopic, and its recent
resurgence, has received relatively little scholarly attention; Carolyn
Anderson and John Lupo in the introduction to the ‘Journal of Popular Film
and Television’s special issue on Biopics describe the form as an
‘overlooked, underappreciated genre whose [...] manifestations deserve new
and rigorous scrutiny.’ This seminar series aims address the need for a
reconsideration of the Biopic and its place in contemporary popular culture.

Submissions of abstracts of 250-300 words for papers of 20 minutes in length
are invited.

Possible topics for papers include, but are by no means limited to:

*       Biopics and national/international histories
*       Biopics and the question of ‘authenticity’
*       Biopics and celebrity
*       Biographical films and nostalgia
*       Biopics and their representations of race, gender, sexuality.
*       Postmodern, ironic Biopics and the role of the biographical film in
contemporary US Independent cinema.
*       Biopics and the ‘auteur’
*       Star personas and the portrayal of the biographical subject
*       The biographical television series and the place of the Biopic in
contemporary television programming.
*       Biographical documentaries
*       The biographical narrative in European and World cinemas.

Please submit abstracts by 14th April 2010 to Victoria Kearley,
vlk204@soton.ac.uk