Call for Papers – Rutgers University IGS’s “VOICES An Interdisciplinary Conference “
The Italian Graduate Society at Rutgers presents:
VOICES An Interdisciplinary Conference
November 22-23, 2019
What does it mean to rethink the voice in the 21st century? Classical philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle, as well as contemporary thinkers such as Jacques Derrida, Hélène Cixous, Alice Lagaay, Giorgio Agamben, and Adriana Cavarero have reflected profoundly on the question of the voice and of voices. Literary theorists such as Roland Barthes, Mikhail Bakhtin, and Lidia Curti, and philologists such as Corrado Bologna have devoted equal attention to the role of the voice in literary and theoretical texts.
The work of philosophers and critics alike attests to the crucial place that the voice has occupied in artistic and cultural debates throughout time. From mythology and religion to confessional narratives, from classical and medieval treatises on grammar and rhetoric to contemporary vocal performances, from counterpoint to opera, from global social justice movements to new forms of digital and mass communication, voices have been celebrated and silenced, studied and standardized, as well as regarded as the place of both private and public expression. The question of the voice invites us to try and interpret a complex present and to confront first and foremost our own listening. By bringing together different perspectives and fields of study, we aim to generate a multidisciplinary debate that will hopefully challenge our community and inspire future trends of research.
Some fundamental questions that will guide our reflection are: is the singular “voice” still a valid philosophical category? Should it be replaced altogether with its plural counterpart, “voices”? How have these concepts changed throughout the centuries? How do human, non-human (e.g. animal, nature), and post-human voices interact? Do digital forms of communication empower the voice? Are there still voiceless groups of people in the era of the internet? What are the ethical, political, and philosophical implications of turning voices into aesthetic objects? What is the role of voices in artistic and social performances? How have voices been represented in literature? What is the relationship between the voice of the author and the voice of the translator?
The Italian Graduate Society at Rutgers welcomes paper proposals in either English or Italian for “Voices”, a multidisciplinary conference to be held in New Brunswick, NJ, on November 22-23, 2019.
We welcome a variety of approaches and fields of studies, including (but not limited to):
Animal studies Anthropology Cinema studies Cultural studies Education Literary studies Media studies
- Medical humanities
- Medieval studies
- Minor literature and literature of minorities
- Musicology
- Oral history
- Performance studies
- Philosophy
- Postcolonial studies
- Religious studies
- Sociology
- Sound studies
- Translation studies
- Women and Gender studies
Please send a 250-word abstract with your name and affiliation to italian.grad.society@gmail.com by September 15th. Presentations should not exceed 15 minutes.