[Discussion] CFP: Lives Lived in Theory: Autocritical Interventions in Life Writing (11/15/05; ACCUTE, 4/27/06-4/30/06)

[gpultar@cstgroup.org]

From: "Gustar, Jennifer" <jennifer.gustar@ubc.ca>

CFP: Lives Lived in Theory: Autocritical Interventions in Life Writing


What interests me today is not strictly called either 'literature'
or 'philosophy'... 'autobiography' is perhaps the least
inadequate name.
                                    Jacques Derrida


For a proposed panel at the 2006 Congress, we invite papers that address aspects
of critical theory as it is inscribed in autobiography, or papers which address
autobiography as theory. We are particularly interested in papers that address
memoir and autobiographical narratives which arise from or speak to the
theoretical foci of our discipline (Literary, Feminist, Queer, Psychoanalytical,
Aesthetic, Postcolonial, Trauma, etc.) of Cultural Studies, broadly defined, or
the experiences of literary/cultural production. This might include
autobiographical narrative as theory, theory as autobiography, accounts of the
scholarly life, etc.

What interests us, here, then, are those autobiographies which are themselves of
theoretical import to the discipline, or which develop insights into the theory
which they frame or from which they arise. Typically, autobiographical discourse
deals explicitly with subject formation, but we are seeking papers which
illuminate the ways in which "theory" and "autobiography" mediate these
subjectivities. In what ways does the autobiographical narrative, mitigate,
translate or inscribe the theoretical concerns of the author. Sara Suleri's
autobiographical memoir, Meatless Days, can be read productively as a dialogue
with postcolonial theory, especially given her problematization of the identity
category "postcolonial woman" in "Woman Skin Deep." Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick's A
Dialogue on Love is a profound narrative on the ways in which her academic life
and theoretical investments mediate her experience of the body in extremis. Kate
Bornstein's Gender Outlaw and My Gender Workbook are not only autobiographical
accounts of coming to terms with the inadequacies of gender theory, but by means
of autobiography, they have made an inestimable contribution to the theory of
Queer.

Please submit a proposal of no more than 500 words by November 15, 2005 to the
email address below. A copy of the abstract and bio-note, must also be
submitted. For electronic submissions, ACCUTE (Association of Canadian College
and University Teachers of English) prefers MS Word attachments.
Proposals should be 300-500 words in length, and should clearly indicate the
originality or scholarly significance of the pro-posed paper, the line of
argument, the principal texts the paper will speak to, and the relation of the
paper to existing scholarship on the topic. A "Works Cited" section must also be
included.


Please Note: Submitters must be ACCUTE members in good standing. ACCUTE will not
forward submissions to a second vettor unless submitters are current ACCUTE
members.


Dr. Jennifer Gustar
Associate Professor, English and Women's Studies
University of British Columbia Okanagan
jennifer.gustar@ubc.ca <mailto:jennifer.gustar@ubc.ca>

Dr. Janet MacArthur
Associate Professor, English
University of British Columbia Okanagan
janet.macarthur@ubc.ca <mailto:Janet.macarthur@ubc.ca>



Jennifer J. Gustar, PhD
Associate Professor
English and Women's Studies
Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies
University of British Columbia Okanagan
3333 University Way, Kelowna, BC, V1Y 1V7

office:(250) 807-9384; hm:(250)-762-9194
FAX: (250) 807-8543
jennifer.gustar@ubc.ca <mailto:jennifer.gustar@ubc.ca>



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