Call for Papers REPRESENTING GENDER IN THE PERFORMATIVE ARTS International conference 12-13 November 2009 (University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands)

Call for Papers REPRESENTING GENDER IN THE PERFORMATIVE ARTS
International conference 12-13 November 2009
University of Groningen, Groningen
The Netherlands

This conference is designed to bring together two main strands of current research in cultural studies: Gender Studies and Word & Image Studies. The purpose of the conference is to investigate the representation of gender through the interaction between words and images in West-European drama, dance and other performative arts from the Middle Ages to the 21st Century. With this approach, we expect to reach a fuller understanding of the dynamics behind cultural change that we witness through the act of representation itself.

In Gender Studies, the (social/cultural) history of women has been written within the last two or three decades; the knowledge gained from these investigations forms the starting point for the present conference that will explore the continuous presence of conflictive relationships, divergences, ambiguities, (self-)parody, and so on, which signal departures from conventions and stereotypes. In Word and Image Studies the focus has traditionally been on textual/visual interaction and intermediality ; however, this project will expand the field by investigating the elements of dissimilarities, divergences or the conflictive dialogue between the media which will constitute an important new contribution to the Word/Image paradigm.

Therefore, the focus of the conference will be : exploring gender identity expressed by the interaction between words and images in drama, dance, and other performative arts. These can take the form of parallel responses to representational conventions of a particular period and place or function as a counter-reaction to conventions such as, for example, parody or self-parody.

We welcome proposals addressing any of these issues. Please send proposal and a brief curriculum vitae before June 30, 2009

to the organisers :
Valerie Robillard, e-mail : v.k.robillard [at] rug.nl
Rina Walthaus, e-mail : c.walthaus [at] rug.nl

Conference fee :
€ 50 (includes conference material, lunches, coffee and tea)
PhD students : € 20

Organised by the University of Groningen (Groningen, The Netherlands) :
ICOG
Dept. of English Language and Culture (Dr. Valerie Robillard)
Dept. of Romance Languages and Cultures (Dr. Rina Walthaus)
Plenary speaker: Professor Helen Wilcox, University of Wales, Bangor

Illustration : Harvey Edwards, ‘Caught in Flight’