[Discussion] IMAGINATION AND THE NATION

[Gonul]

2004 SPRING GRADUATE STUDENT CONFERENCE
IMAGINATION AND THE NATION: IN, BETWEEN, AND BEYOND STATES
SATURDAY, MAY 8TH, 2004
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA BARBARA
AMERICAN CULTURES AND GLOBAL CONTEXTS CENTER

In recent years, the processes, flows, forces, and trends which could be
called "globalisms" or "globalization," as well as theories surrounding
these developments, have contributed to renewed interest in the
connections within and among America, the Americas, and the rest of the
world.  With this in mind, this conference seeks to bring together
student scholars from various disciplines around the central theme of
the national imaginary and how it relates to the global imaginary.

How do we articulate the "states" we are in-- politically,
intellectually, aesthetically, ethnically, emotionally, sexually,
psychologically-- and what difference might these articulations make?
What exactly is a "national imaginary" in today's world where the
nation-state seems to be increasingly diffuse and deterritorialized?
How do cultural forces influence a nation's sense of itself, and how do
those same forces influence how nations view each other and the world as
a whole? How are political and economic decisions being determined or
influenced by broader cultural ideologies or forms?  What does it mean
to imagine one's self as a citizen in a purportedly "globalized" world?
How do identity politics interact with aesthetic formations of the self
in an era where national identity is merely one of many competing
subjectivities?  All of these questions are merely the beginning of a
series of inquiries this conference hopes to explore.

Again, we encourage submissions from a wide range of disciplines and
with diverse historical and formal foci; in other words, work from
"non-Americanists" might be particularly apt, given the fact that we are
questioning the very idea of any single version of "America" in the
first place. All accepted papers will be published; details to be
announced.

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

Race, Ethnicity and "Imagined Communities"
Gender and Sexuality in a Global Context
Advertising and Commodity Flows
Ecological Globalism(s)
The Media, Violence, and Identity
Visual, Musical or Verbal Aesthetics and the Nation
Science, Technology, and the Nation
Transnational and/or Nationalist Religious Movements
Creating a "Just Cause" in Art and Politics
Image, Empire, and Aesthetics
Imagining States of Resistance
Americanization and "High and Low" Cultures
Hidden or Forgotten America(s)
Transnational Politics and Aesthetics

ALSO: Artistic responses (such as paintings, sculptures, etc.) to all of
the
above are highly encouraged-- we would like to exhibit
thematically-related
art at the conference.  Please follow the regular submission guidelines
for
individual papers and, if possible, include a photo of your piece.

Paper abstracts should be no more than 300 words. All submissions should
be formatted in a Word-compatible application and preferably sent via
e-mail to Elizabeth Freudenthal at  <mailto:freuden@umail.ucsb.edu>
freuden@umail.ucsb.edu with the subject heading "ACGC conference
submission." Alternately, please send hard-copies to the English
Department, South Hall 2607, UCSB, Santa Barbara, CA 93106. ATTN:
American Cultures and Global Contexts Center.

Situated in the English Department at UC Santa Barbara, the American
Cultures and Global Contexts Center builds upon the considerable
strengths in American Studies at UCSB by offering an interdisciplinary
setting for new research and teaching initiatives.

Submission Deadline: December 8, 2003.