The submission deadline for the English Graduate Conference is THURSDAY, JANUARY 15th.
Send submissions to: moc.liamg|fnocgnessamu#moc.liamg|fnocgnessamu
Conference Website: http://people.umass.edu/aegarner/index.html

Locating Public(s) is an interdisciplinary conference for Graduate Students to be held April 4, 2009 at The University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

The conception of the Public (or Publics) has been contested in historical, social, and political arenas within the various discourses of language and culture. Although, arguably, the public and its space have been a subject of investigation since antiquity, recent scholarship has reconceived earlier definitions in light of contemporary political shifts and the increasingly invasive presence of media and technology into the private sphere. By examining notions of the public, we hope to revisit this concept within a contemporary framework. What are the forms of the public and what issues are raised by its problematic definition? Is the dichotomy between public and private a dated conception? How can inquiries into the public inform our notions of other fields that require the public and publicity for their operation?

In addressing the need for a current and expanded conversation about the public that exceeds disciplinary boundaries, this conference aims to create a space for graduate and professional students from various fields within the Humanities to engage in dialogue, learn from interdisciplinary perspectives, make connections, and share in our investigation of the public and its bearings on our own work and lives.

POSSIBLE TOPICS AND POINTS OF ENTRY:

* Collective Memory of Cultures, Nations
* (Re)Defining the Public
* Film and the Public
* Nationalism and the Public
* Transnational and Global Public Issues
* Defining the Public within diaspora Studies
* National Trauma and Public Spaces
* Public Rituals and Customs
* History and the Public
* Gender Studies and the Public
* Authorship and Audience
* Readership and Consumption of Texts
* The duality of the author, persons and personas
* Literature and the Public
* Public Reception of the Fine Arts
* The Subject and the Public
* Public Discourses
* Public and Private Politics
* Identity and Public Spaces
* Technology and Public Issues

WAYS TO PARTICIPATE:

* Participate as part of a Proposed Panel*
* Present an Individual Paper
* Present a Performance or Creative Piece
* Serve as a Moderator on a Panel of Presentations

*Please be aware that in proposing a panel, the panel’s allotted time is 75-90 minutes including any audience questions and discussions. Panels should be made up of three to four presenters with a cohesive theme for their papers.

Please send your submission materials by email or email-attachment to the Conference Committee no later than Thursday, January 15, 2009.

We will accept three different types of submissions:

1) Individual papers: please submit an abstract of 250-300 words, including your name and institution.

2) Panels: please submit information for an entire panel of presentations (3-4 presenters). This information should include abstracts of all presentations, an abstract of the panel itself, title of the panel, and presenter information (name, institution, and contact info). If you are forming your own panel, you have the option of providing your own chair.

3) Creative Presentations/Panels: we also accept submission of creative works, including creative writing, visual art, and dramatic performance.

For individual papers or creative presentations, the conference committee will work to place you with other papers dealing with similar goals/issues. All panels will run 75-90 minutes in length, meaning that presentations should run no longer than 15 minutes in order to allow 30 minutes for questions. Time restraints for presentations within creative panels will be more flexible and will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.