Ever since the rise of mass politics in Western societies, the slow historical movement characterized by clashes, confrontations and negotiations between heterogeneous parties has been occasionally stirred by the deflagration of regional, national and transnational uprisings that rapidly altered the established status quo.What, when & where
3rd Sapienza Graduate Forum Organized by the English-language literatures doctoral program “Sapienza” University of Rome
“The times, are they a-changing? Shifting paradigms of protest.”
Rome, 17-19 May 2018
Topics
Ever since the rise of mass politics in Western societies, the slow historical movement characterized by clashes, confrontations and negotiations between heterogeneous parties has been occasionally stirred by the deflagration of regional, national and transnational uprisings that rapidly altered the established status quo. With all due caution for too-sharp historical categorizations, it is undeniable that some years have come to epitomize – at least culturally – these political turning points: 1789, 1848, 1917, 1968. Each of these dates still resonates today, and, taken all together, they seem to suggest a trend: a revolution might be due every half a century. If that is the case, the next revolution might be right around the corner. Or maybe we are already living it, just waiting for a memorable date to pin it down in history books. The times might be a-changing, once again. The
aim of this forum is to discuss whether such claim is supportable and how so. We indeed live in a time when protest and dissent are common occurrence, but they have been referred to very different socio-political conflicts (from pacifism and civil rights struggles to the Black Lives Matter and the Occupy Movements) being constantly reshaped by the medium that
conveys dissent. In the last two decades, the progressively stricter entanglement between new political paradigms (neo-populisms, digital democracy, etc.) and the development of new media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) has determined a radical transformation of the languages of dissent, fostering the organization of massive protest movements such as the Arab Spring, the Occupy Movements, or the #NoDAPL; and, very recently, the eruption of mediatic campaigns such as the #MeToo. Nonetheless, the activity and the agency of these movements show the emergence of a synergy between traditional and new forms of mass mobilization: the role of rallies remains central, but the communicative potential at the base of popular gatherings has been reinforced by new instruments such as flashmobs, a practice which epitomizes the juncture between social media networks and classic mass gatherings (and which literally alludes to the role of people as well as the velocity allowed by internet). At the same time, word of mouth has remained the main channel of divulgation, but its digital turn (tweets, retweets, posts and reposts, etc.) has allowed a wider dissemination of information and a quicker organization of events and protests.
In a sense, the digital millenial revolution has transformed the languages – spoken as well as written – of protest rather than dissent itself. The objective of the third edition of the Sapienza Graduate Forum for American Studies is to explore the evolution in the modes of contemporary manifestation of these drives, discussing the eternal relation between dominance and resistance, consensus and dissent, times to dissent and spaces for protest. Contributions may include but are by no means limited to the following themes:
• Contemporary American Literature
• Contest-ing/ed cultures and literatures
• Internet rhetorics
• The images of protest and dissent in pop culture
• Spaces of protest/protest for spaces
• Revolution/Restauration
• Protest, socio-political issues, and rights’ claims in literature
• The rights of literature
• Revolutionized aesthetics
Deadline & how to apply
Deadline to send abstracts: 15th March 2018
Contributions from doctoral students and early-career researchers are encouraged. Participants’ speeches should last 20-25 minutes.
Please send a title and a 300-word abstract, together with a short biographical note to: sapienza.doctoralforum@gmail.com.
Responses and confirmations will be given by: 30th March 2018
Conference fee:
- Full (includes four coffee breaks and one pizza dinner) 35€
- Standard (includes four coffee breaks without dinner) 20€
Other info, Links & conditions
We have decided to experiment new possible ways to materialize one of the key-scopes of Sapienza Graduate Forum for American Studies: that of promoting dialogue and intellectual exchange among the community. For this reason, we have chosen to organize our third edition in collaboration with the AISNA Graduate Forum, which will join the event with a panel dedicated to new methodologies of research.
All Things Methodology! Approaches, Theories, and Tools for American Studies
Participation in the Sapienza Graduate Forum and in the AISNA Graduate panel does NOT constitute a conflict: in other words, if you are interested in both possibilities you are warmly encouraged to submit two proposals. Otherwise, you can submit only one proposal, for the event you are interested in.
A Panel organized by the AISNA Graduate Forum Virginia Pignagnoli virginia.pignagnoli@unito.it Marta Gara marta.gara85@gmail.com Alice Balestrino: alice.balestrino@hotmail.it
The Panel will be introduced by a guest speaker, who will survey some of the most innovative research methods currently employed in the field of American Studies. We invite early-career researchers (MA students, PhD Candidates, Post-Doc Fellows) to present a 15-minute talk about the methodology/ies they are applying to their research project – an overview
of the toolbox they have chosen to conduct their investigation with. The panel aims at portraying a large variety of approaches, from cognitive studies to digital humanities, from memory study to feminism, from ecocriticism to affect theory etc., in order to foster dialogue among the participants and invite discussions on the many tools and methods an early-career scholar can draw on.
The Panel aims to be interdisciplinary and addresses researchers of American history, literature and cultural studies. Please submit a 300 words proposal and a short bio to events@aisna-graduates.online by March 20, 2018
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see more opportunities.