[Discussion] CONTROLLING BODIES / CONTROLLING SPACES

[sule tarakcioglu]

[CTRL] CONTROLLING BODIES / CONTROLLING SPACES
McGill University - Montreal, Quebec Canada
October 22nd & 23rd, 2004

Conference website: http://www.quadrantcrossing.org/ctrl /> Conference 
email: ctrl_conference@graffiti.net

PLEASE SEND SUBMISSIONS FOR PAPERS OR PANELS BY JUNE 30th, 2004

[CTRL]
Over the past few years, activists, artists and academics have commented
upon the transition from what Michel Foucault termed a disciplinary
society to a society of control. In a control society, cracks in
disciplinary practices and institutions are "filled in" through a dual
process of monitoring and modulation.

As technologies of control proliferate, the flow of ideas, artefacts and
everyday practices is increasingly affected. For example, web browser
technologies--'cookies'--monitor surfing habits to generate consumer
profiles, while Global Positioning System satellites pinpoint the
location of active cellphones. Recently, the Canadian government has
proposed Bill C-12, an amendment to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms,
nullifying the defense of 'artistic merit' in the face of censorship.
Under this bill artists whose work is deemed obscene would have to prove
that it is in the 'public good'. On a corporeal level, young women
continue to be labeled as 'victims' because of their decisions about
their own sexuality, while peers, teachers and 'experts' reinforce tired
notions about good girls and bad girls.

In the face of these emergent forms of control, what theories, praxes,
and tactics can be mobilised to counter-act, disrupt or deterritorialise
these various sites and/or networks? [CTRL] aims to explore the diverse
formations and functions of 'control' as they relate to bodies and spaces.

We invite proposals for papers and panels. Please send submissions of
abstracts of 250 words or less. We are particularly interested in papers
that incorporate feminist, postcolonial and/or queer theory.

We are also looking for images, video or audio clips that intersect with
the theme of the conference. They will be included in a show during our
performance night, Friday October 22nd.

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Erin Manning, Assistant Professor, Faculty of
Fine Arts, Concordia University
"Security Bytes: Securing Sense? Flesh and the National Body
Politic"

Erin Manning's recent publication, Ephemeral Territories: Representing
Nation, Home and Identity in Canada (Minnesota Press 2003) deconstructs
notions of Canada, the home and the nation-state. Dr. Manning is
director of The Sense Lab at Concordia University and a Canadian
Research Chair Nominee. In addition to her academic work, Erin Manning's
artistic contributions include theatrical, dance, and literary
performances.

Possible themes to be addressed include, but are not limited to:

Controlling Bodies:
? police, military
? religious institutions
? law and government policy, census
? border control, citizenship, immigration, emigration, refugees
? biomedical, reproductive, and DNA technologies
? corporations, universities, cultural centres
? media, news and entertainment, reality TV
? surveillance
? loan agencies, student loans
? MoneyMart, credit card companies
? marketing research, advertising, branding
? Internet distribution, tracking, surveillance
? copyright, intellectual property, music and filesharing


Controlled Space:
? streets, parks, vacant lots/buildings
? theatres, museums, galleries, libraries, clubs
? states, institutions, schools, classrooms
? stores, shopping malls
? TV, cinema, entertainment centres
? public transit, trains, planes and automobiles

Controlled Bodies:
? racially marked bodies, classed bodies
? gendered bodies, trans bodies, sexed bodies, sexy bodies
? athlete's bodies, celebrity bodies, dancing bodies
? homeless bodies
? dead bodies, no bodies...

SEND SUBMISSION VIA EMAIL IN .RTF FORMAT BY JUNE 30TH, 2004.
Please address abstracts and general inquiries to:
ctrl_conference@graffiti.net
Conference website: http://www.quadrantcrossing.org/ctrl />
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