[Discussion] CFP: Public Displays of Affection (grad) (12/15/04; 4/8/05-4/9/05)

[Sule Tarakcioglu]

The Visual and Cultural Studies Program at the University of Rochester
is hosting its Graduate Student Conference on Friday, April 8 and
Saturday, April 9, 2005.  Please forward the following call for papers.
The deadline for submissions is December 15, 2004.

Aviva Dove-Viebahn
"Public Displays of Affection" Conference Coordinator
University of Rochester


CALL FOR PAPERS
PLEASE DISTRIBUTE AND POST

Public Displays of Affection
An Interdisciplinary Graduate Student Conference
Visual and Cultural Studies Program
University of Rochester
Friday, April 8 & Saturday, April 9, 2005

Civility can be viewed as a series of performances that generate a range
of emotions, including the patriotism of war, the joys of shopping, and
the fear of urban crime. The public display of affection constitutes a
contest of meaning in which various appeals are made to organize the
emotional life of the individual and the rules of decorum. To be
convinced of this idea one only has to turn on the television. From the
not-so carefully scripted emotions of the recent Presidential debates,
to the ongoing pageantry of heteronormative romance, to the proscribed
images of mourning for war casualties, it appears that the politics of
putting your heart into the public sphere are by no means certain, but
certainly meaningful.

PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION aims to explore the value of affect and its
exhibition in public. Disturbed by formations of the public sphere as a
wholly rational space for the exchange of collective ideas and actions,
we turn instead towards the multiple meanings or uses of public
feelings. We are interested in the specificity or uniqueness of emotions
and how they shape historical moments and geographic sites.

We invite proposals from across disciplines, research interests and
theoretical persuasions that engage with P.D.A. through specific forms
of display: museums, galleries, mass media, film, theatres, festivals,
etc.  Possible areas of inquiry might include, but are not limited to:
-          Nationalism and/or spectacular nations
-          Political protest
-          Public/private space
-          Public sex
-          Marriage
-          Family
-          Feminism
-          Queer history and theory
-          Empathy, sentiment, depression, rage and other kinds of
	   affect

***DEADLINE for submissions: December 15, 2004***

Submissions for 20-minute papers should be in abstract form (250-500
words).  A self-addressed stamped envelope must accompany all
submissions requiring return. Please include e-mail addresses with all
submissions whenever possible.
Abstracts and inquiries may be sent via e-mail to:
vcsconf@mail.rochester.edu

Printed submissions should be sent to:
Organizing Committee for "Public Displays of Affection"
c/o Program in Visual and Cultural Studies
424 Morey Hall
University of Rochester
Box 270456
Rochester, NY 14627-0456

ABOUT THE PROGRAM
The Program in Visual and Cultural Studies is an interdisciplinary
graduate program at the University of Rochester. Its focus is visual
culture and critical theory; the Departments and Programs of Art and Art
History, English, Film Studies, Anthropology, History, and Modern
Languages and Cultures, as well as the Susan B. Anthony Institute for
Women and Gender Studies, constitute its academic base. Web site:
http://www.rochester.edu/college/AAH/



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