[Discussion] TZVETAN TODOROV CONFERENCE

[Gonul]

EXTENSION OF DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF ABSTRACTS
UNTIL 15 OCTOBER 2003 - REMINDER

FIRST INTERNATIONAL TZVETAN TODOROV CONFERENCE IN
HONOUR OF HIS 65TH BIRTHDAY

‘Tzvetan Todorov and the Future of the Human Sciences’

24–27 June 2004

Bakhtin Centre, University of Sheffield, UK

Tzvetan Todorov, who has gradually emerged as a leading intellectual
figure in Europe, has consistently refused enclosure in established
disciplines, and has approached human experience from a variety of angles.
The clarity of his style and accessibility of his thought enhance the
unifying perspective he has adopted within the human sciences. A growing
trend in the humanities today consists, precisely, in questioning the
boundaries erected between the various disciplines of the human sciences
and in addressing the need for research in the humanities to develop in
new directions. It is our belief that critical theory should provide the
platform for this debate rather than remaining at a ‘theoretical second
remove’ and commenting only after the fact. It therefore appears
imperative to create a forum for discussion of the works and thought of
Tzvetan Todorov in a manner that would bridge the divides between academic
disciplines, considering that Todorov is an outstanding exemplar of what
has been achieved in overcoming disciplinary boundaries, and of the
potential that still remains for doing so.

The conference proposes to assess the position and contribution of Tzvetan
Todorov’s thought to the human sciences and to evaluate the potential of
his concept of ‘critical humanism’ as an alternative to theory. Therefore,
the conference seeks to bring together scholars from various disciplines
who engage with Todorov’s work and to foster cross-disciplinary thought in
the humanities (critical theory, literature, history, philosophy,
philosophical anthropology, semiotics…) with a view to publishing at least
one thematically focused volume of articles.

TZVETAN TODOROV will give a public lecture in the French
Embassy Lecture Series on 26 June 2004 and will participate in a
roundtable with the conference participants on 27 June.

Keynote speakers include:
Stoyan ATANASSOV (University of Sofia) on ‘Todorov or the
Dialogical Self at the Crossroads of Cultures’;
Frances FERGUSON (Johns Hopkins University) on ‘Tzvetan
Todorov on Narratives and Societies’;
Eugene GOODHEART (Brandeis University) on ‘Todorov, Berlin,
Kolakowski and Me’;
Robert ZARETSKY (University of Houston) on ‘Uncommon
Histories: An Evening with Jean-Jacques Rousseau at the Drury
Lane Theatre’.

Papers addressing one or more of the following areas will be
especially welcome:
-cross-disciplinarity as the future of the human sciences
-critical humanism: new form of humanism or well-tempered
liberal humanism?
-literature as privileged medium for understanding human
experience
-ethicalapproaches to history
-‘exemplary narrative’ as an original contribution to critical
theory
-Todorov’s contribution to holocaust studies
-Todorov as European intellectual
-historical and/or contemporary sources of or influences on
Todorov’s thought (for ex. Rousseau, Constant, Bakhtin,
Ferry, …)
-crossing cultures: translating Todorov, Todorov in
translation, etc.

Papers addressing other issues related to the general aims of the
conference and proposals for panels (see guidelines below) are
encouraged.

Papers will be organised in panels of 3 lasting 90 minutes. Each
paper should last 20–25 minutes (maximum) in order to leave
adequate time for discussion.
Advance posting of abstracts, or even full papers, on the
conference websiteis envisaged.

Publication:
A selection of the papers presented will be considered for
publication in a special issue of The Canadian Review of
Comparative Literature.

Abstracts:
Please send 300-word abstracts by e-mail attachment in RTF or
Word format to k.zbinden@sheffield.ac.uk by 15 October 2003.
Proposals for panels
should include title of panel, names and institutional affiliations of
chair and three panellists with abstracts and name of discussant if
appropriate.

Please consult the conference website for updated information at
http://www.shef.ac.uk/uni/academic/A-C/bakh/homeconf.html
and address any query to the conference organisers (Karine
Zbinden and David Shepherd): by e-mail
(mailto:k.zbinden@sheffield.ac.uk or
mailto:d.g.shepherd@sheffield.ac.uk) or by post to:

Tzvetan Todorov Conference
Bakhtin Centre
Arts Tower, fl. 8
University of Sheffield
Sheffield S10 2TN, UK.

Please pass on this information to anybody you know who may
be interested.

**********************
Dr Karine Zbinden
SNF Research Fellow
Bakhtin Centre
Arts Tower, floor 8
Western Bank
University of Sheffield
SHEFFIELD S10 2TN, G.B.
ph. 0044 (0)114 222 7412
fax ph. 0044 (0)114 222 7416
http://www.shef.ac.uk/uni/academic/A-C/bakh/zbinden.html
http://www.shef.ac.uk/uni/academic/A-C/bakh/todorov.html