call for papers

CALL FOR PAPERS

Studia Phaenomenologica Vol XI (2011): Concepts of Tradition in Phenomenology

The 2011 issue of Studia Phaenomenologica is dedicated to the topic: Concepts of Tradition in Phenomenology. As it is commonly known, Husserl’s phenomenology demanded at its first breakthrough a total refutation of all uncertified knowledge, theory or meaning inherited from the past. However, the development of phenomenological inquiry gradually resulted in a more ambiguous attitude towards history and tradition. On the one hand, history and tradition are necessary but still unfortunate distortions, which hinder phenomenological research in its strive for original self-givenness; on the other hand, they become themselves universal phenomena that must be explored as such.

As recent publications of late Husserlian manuscripts have revealed, Husserl himself became more and more aware of these topics in his last decade, as he was finally inclined to interpret the Life-world itself in its full concreteness as a “generative tradition”. Tradition in this sense pertains to all meaning sprung from earlier acquisition. Therefore, the concept obviously exceeds its ordinary meaning, exclusively related to inter-subjective historical inheritance, by gaining a fundamental importance for all areas of phenomenological analysis, as they all have the characteristic of “traditionalizing”. Thus, there is “tradition” at work in all action or bodily movement, in every instance of a given situation and in any relation to another thing or being.

Understood in this broad sense, the term does not address only the genetic fact of sedimentation, but also a specific, “habitual” quality that things allow to see through themselves, as bearers of a past. Hence, the theme marks an intersection of various problematic strata in Husserlian phenomenology, starting from the correlation of genetic and static phenomenology, following through different aspects of phenomenological methodology, and up to several ground-themes of phenomenological research, such as historicity, memory, language, bodily existence, inter-subjectivity, life-world and others.

The same twofold relation to tradition – of growing thematic interest, on the one hand, and utter criticism, on the other – shows in the post-Husserlian phenomenology as well. Heidegger, for instance, is from his early beginnings convinced that history should be the true guideline for phenomenological research, while at the same time pleading for a systematic destruction of the philosophical tradition. A similarly ambiguous position defines his later project of transcending metaphysics, and certainly other examples can be found as well.

The aim of our 2011 issue is therefore to explore the two fundamental poles that define the phenomenological approach of tradition: the task of understanding the problem of tradition thematically, on one hand, and the necessity of confronting it methodically as a residual distortion, on the other hand.

We welcome all submissions addressing either one of these two landmarks. Contributions to the late Husserlian topic of “tradition”, in its universal acceptation or in some concrete life-worldly application, are particularly encouraged, as well as submissions dealing with other, post-Husserlian, phenomenological approaches to the concept of “tradition”.

Contact: The texts can be submitted to the address:
tradition(at)phenomenology.ro

The texts have to be prepared in accordance with the formal rules indicated in our website http://studia-phaenomenologica.com/?page=submit

The languages accepted for publication are: German, English, and French.

Deadline for submission: November, the 15th, 2010.

In each volume of Studia Phaenomenologica, there is a section of Varia. Therefore, articles that do not fit the topic of our calls for papers, can be submitted to the editors, following the formal rules indicated in our website http://studia-phaenomenologica.com/?page=submit, at the email address: editors(at)phenomenology.ro.
 

CFP:
 
Neo-Pragmatism, Language and Culture
Perspectives on Rorty and Brandom
http://www.nordprag.org/ws10.html

Oslo, Norway, October 2010
 
Theme
 
In connection with a visit of Professor Yajun Chen (Nanjing University), the Nordic Pragmatism Network and the University of Oslo will arrange a workshop on neo-pragmatism. The theme of the workshop is Richard Rorty’s and Robert Brandom’s views on world culture and language, emphasizing their commonalities and differences.
 
The main speaker of the workshop, Professor Chen, studied at Harvard, and has spent the last year as a Fulbright scholar at the University of Pittsburgh in collaboration with Robert Brandom. He is a distinguished representative of the growing revival of pragmatism in China, which already has important historical connections with the pragmatist tradition. Dewey spent two years in China at the beginning of the nineteen twenties, lectured to huge crowds, and had several pupils who survived the cultural revolution. Today there is a Dewey Centre in Shanghai. Eight decades later, Rorty also went to China (in 2004), for a visit which resulted, among other things, in the publication of Rorty, Pragmatism and Confucianism (edited by Yong Huang, SUNY Press, 2009).
 
Venue
 
The workshop will take place at the Department of Philosophy, Classics, History of Art and Ideas at the University of Oslo in 28-29 October 2010 with Prof. Arild Pedersen as the local organizer and workshop secretary. The organizers will make hotel reservations on behalf of the participants. More information about accommodation will be available in later summer, 2010.
 
Call for Papers
 
The workshop is intended to provide an opportunity for ”learning by doing”, that is, the composing of articles/essays/books on the subject of the workshop: contributions may take the form of work in progress — even mere abstracts of forthcoming papers are welcome. Each speaker will be assigned 30 minutes including discussion. For those who might wish to participate in the program without presenting work, assignation as moderator or respondent is an option.
 
The organizers invite paper proposals to the workshop. Please send an abstract of 150-300 words to arild.pedersen(at)ifikk.uio.no by 1 August 2010.
 

Call for Papers
International Conference “Existential Philosophy and Ethics”
Freie Universität Berlin, March 10-12, 2011
Deadline for abstracts (max. 1 page): Mai 15, 2010

For the German / French version, see:
http://www.sartre-gesellschaft.de/existentialismus-ethik-2011.html
http://www.ges-sartre.fr/existentialisme-ethique.html

The question of whether a system of ethics can be developed from existentialist principles has been long debated. One common objection to Kierkegaard, for example, is that he would close himself off from any form of sociability through a closed-off individual communication with God; he even speaks of a “suspension of the ethical.” In Being and Time, Heidegger famously denies the possibility of an ethical interpretation of human existence. In a similar way, Sartre admits in Being and Nothingness that from the perspective of the ontological description of human being, ethical consequences can only be derived in the mode of the “as if.”

But the actual course of existential philosophy tells a different story. From the beginning, existential thought opposed itself to narrowly self-directed academic philosophy and sought to apply itself to the concrete praxis of human life, as well as to related questions of moral philosophy. Although they differ in many ways, the various approaches of particular existential philosophers all center on the concept of human freedom, which Schelling described as the “faculty of good and evil.” This faculty stands as the condition of the possibility of any ethical system.

The conference is concerned with the paradox that existential philosophy either contains a strong connection to ethics or has a great distance from it – depending on the perspective chosen. Accordingly, we hope to address the following questions: How can we explain the fact that, despite its praxis-oriented approach, no significant ethical tradition has developed out of existential philosophy? Does the specific approach of existential philosophy preclude the possibility of discussing ethical questions? Or is existential philosophy measured against an excessively narrow concept of ethics, which it seeks to overcome? Should the concept of ethics be enlarged? Could this indicate the impossibility of developing an ethics in the traditional sense? Can positive social arrangements be derived from considerations about successful individual-to-self relationships? How does authenticity relate to social engagement?

In the spirit of existential philosophy, we wish to extend the discussion from the theoretical to the practical. All existentialists agree that freedom must always be understood as something practical, as an engagement of the individual with the world. This could be discussed through examples. We will address the question of whether the concrete social interactions of fraternity and violence can be justified within the framework of existentialism. Despite their seemingly obvious opposition to each other, both concepts appear equally in the existential tradition. Are they perhaps less contradictory than they seem at first glance, or do they really exclude each other? Does their equal status indicate the arbitrariness of ethical conclusions in existential philosophy? The concrete ethical engagement of individual existentialist philosophers can be also be critically examined in this regard. We are seeking contributions which deal with the systematic foundations of existentialistic ethics and which relate to one of the following topics.

Topics
1) - Existential philosophy compared to traditional ethics
2) - Is there an existentialistic ethics?
- Application to concrete values / attitudes:
3) - Can authenticity be established as a value?
4) - Can fraternity and/or violence be justified within existentialism?

Presentations should last no longer than 30 minutes and may be given in German, English or French. A publication of the contributions is planned. Abstracts should be sent to Manuela Hackel Manuela.hackel(at)fu-berlin.de

Organizer
- German Sartre Society
- Institute of Philosophy (department of the History of Philosophy), FU Berlin

Contact
Manuela Hackel (FU Berlin): manuela.hackel(at)fu-berlin.de
 
 

CFP:
Narratives of Health and Illness
http://www.genna.gender.uu.se/themes/BodyEmbodiment/Nordic_Network_Gender_Body_and_Health/Network_Meetings/

September 16-17, 2010

The Nordic Network Gender, Body, Health in collaboration with The Centre for Gender Research, Uppsala University, Sweden

The Nordic Network Gender, Body, Health invites submissions for the symposium Narratives of Health and Illness that will take place at Uppsala University, Sweden on September 16-17, 2010. We welcome submissions for papers, panels, poster-presentations, workshops and different forms of art-work approaching issues within the overarching theme from a broad range of disciplines and fields of research.

Topics can include, but are not limited to:

·        Narratives of Health vs. Narratives of Illness

·        Relations between Narrators and Narratives

·        Narrating Bodies

·        Narrative Coherence and Narrative Disruption

·        Narrative Medicine

·        Scientific Narratives

·        Narratives of Power/Powers of Narrative

·        Narratives of Sex and Gender

·        Narratives and Intersections of Identity

·        Autobiography, Subjectivity and Self-Representation

·        Narrative, Memory and History

·        Expression of Narrative and Narrative Expressivity

·        Narrative Forms and Media

One page abstracts are due July 1, 2010. Please submit your abstracts to
body(at)gender.uu.se and state clearly the form of your proposed contribution.

For further information, please contact Lisa Folkmarson Käll, Centre for Gender Research, Uppsala University (lisa.kall(at)gender.uu.se).

*

The Nordic Network Gender, Body, Health is based at the Centre for Gender Research at Uppsala University, Sweden. With the aim of achieving productive interdisciplinary work on issues concerning gender, body, and health, the network gathers researchers and practitioners from a number of diverse fields such as medicine, comparative literature, philosophy, cultural studies, sociology, anthropology, human geography, sports- and health sciences, psychiatry, social psychology, and history of science. More information about the network: www.genna.gender.uu.se/genderbodyhealth
 

*ENGLISH BELOW*

Är du intresserad av frågor om kön och sexualitet? Har du sysslat med genusvetenskapliga frågeställningar?

Studiecirkel 8 Kön i Norden, vid Nordiskt sommaruniversitet, har publicerat Call for Papers för inkommande sommarsession i juli. De efterlyser fördrag om genusrelaterade ämnen från de olika nordiska länderna, antingen om teoretiska positioner eller empiriska undersökningar.

Se CFP i slutet av detta mail

Nordiskt sommaruniversitet (NSU) är en internordisk samarbetsorganisation vars syfte är att främja nordiskt samarbete inom forskning o.d. NSU stöder i synnerhet tvärdisciplinaritet, innovation och nya foskningsämnen.

Organisationens verksamhet bygger på s.k. studiecirklar eller kretsar som vanligtvis varar i 3 år. Deltagarna samlas 2 ggr årligen för att diskutera och hålla presentationer, en gång på vintersymposium endast med sin egen krets och en gång på sommaren på NSU:s årliga sommarsession.

I år hållls somarsymposiet i Finland, på Majvik konferenscenter i Masaby (Kyrkslätt) den 24-31.7. Förutom det akademiska arbetet som sker i kretsarna, erbjuder sommarsessionen ett varierat kulturprogram, key note föredrag av välkända vetenskapsmän (Mladen Dolar och Andrew Gibson), och framför allt gemytlig social samvaro i en naturskön miljö. Den sociala sidan hör till NSU:s absoluta trumfkort.

Etablerade forskare, forskarstuderande och studerande är alla välkomna!

Studiecirkel 8, Kön i Norden, är nu inne på sitt andra år. Till sommarsessionen önskas deltagare från de olika nordiska länderna för att diskutera dels aktuella teoretiska positioner i ett eller flera av de nordiska länderna och empiriska studier. Vi välkomnar gärna flera finländska medlemmar, för att garantera den nordiska prägeln.

Mer information om sommarsessionen finns på www.nsuweb.net

h, Andrea Hynynen

***
CFP:

Theoretical positions and empirical studies [2010/3]

Kjønn i Norden

Welcome to Study Circle VIII, Gender in the Nordic Countries, at Nordic Summer University, Summer session the 24. of July - 31. of July 2010 in Finland.

Køn i Norden
Summer symposium 2010: Call For Papers
The purpose of Study Circle VIII at the Nordic Summer University is to bring together scholars interested in different perspectives and thoughts concerning gender and feminism. The Circle proposes to look at the significance of thinking about gender for the development of the Nordic culture(-s), society(-ies) and research.

What kinds of similarities and differences can be found in the Nordic countries with regards to gender-related issues?

The Circle invites to an inter-Nordic and interdisciplinary discussion about the structures that manage thinking about gender today, on a societal level as well as in academic research.

These structures could be reflected upon within (intellectual) history, philosophy, literature, education, politics, sociology or in comparative thinking.

The summer session 2010 is centered on two lines of interrogation. One purpose of the summer session 2010 is to examine the various theoretical positions within gender studies and how they interact in the Nordic countries. Theoretical positions that operate with gender and power can be feminist theory, queer theory or intersectionality.

How are these theoretical positions used in studies in the Nordic countries? This question can be addressed in various ways according to interest. For instance can literature, historical events, theatre plays, social organizations or legislation be the object of studies.

Another purpose of the summer session 2010 is to have empirical studies represented. It can for example be studies with a gender perspective on Nordic welfare countries, the financial crisis, neoliberalism or other themes relevant to this circle, as such studies can offer an opening for understanding and discussing the conception of feminism.

We welcome both theoretically orientated presentations and studies of activism and/or different practices.

Those interested in attending or in presenting a paper at the session are invited to send an abstract of 150-300 words, preferably no later than May 1th, 2010 to nsugender(at)gmail.com.

For more information about the Nordic Summer University and the upcoming
summer session at Majvik in Finland see the website: www.nsuweb.net
Welcome!

Kind Regards,
the coordinators for Circle VIII
Andrea Hynynen, PhD-student in French Literature, Åbo Akademi, Finland
Inger Nørgård, master in History and Gender studies, University of
Århus, Denmark
 
 

IX. International Leibniz Congress
Nature and Subject
September 19–23, 2011, Leibniz University Hannover
First Circular

PDF: Erstes Rundschreiben (mehrsprachig) / First Circular (multilingual):
http://www.gottfried-wilhelm-leibniz-gesellschaft.de/Dokumente/ErstesRundschreiben2011.pdf

Leibniz’s importance for the present, as well as his historical standing in philosophy and in the sciences, are to be the focus of the congress. Since the previous congress six volumes of the Academy Edition have appeared; four further volumes will be published before the congress takes place. Furthermore, since the previous congress hundreds of pages of previously unpublished texts have been made available in provisional form on the internet.

Leibniz composed a series of important philosophical texts in dialogue form. It is intended that the congress should, in the sense of such a “Dialog of Reason”, bring together and confront existing investigations, elucidate consensus and controversy, ascertain what has been achieved and identify research desiderata. These could also include such hitherto, if at all, implicitly conducted methodological controversies. To what extent could texts composed at intervals of many years be mutually illuminating? Is our present picture of Leibniz’s philosophical development precise enough for such an approach?

The motto “Nature and Subject” is to constitute a focal point of the congress. In recent years Leibniz’s views of biology and the living body have become more and more the center of attention; the role of the “machines of nature” has been more exactly investigated. In addition, the debate concerning corporeal substance has gained increasing attention. Leibniz attributes subjectivity or subjective experience in the broader sense not exclusively to the spiritual monads. Naturally the motto also encompasses the dimension of epistemology and philosophy of science.
       
The Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Society invites all interested researchers, specialists and friends to participate. Announcement of papers is requested by February 1, 2011; of the accepted contributions a file or a reproducible paper copy (camera-ready, maximum length 8 pages) is required by May 1, 2011, since the contributions are to be available in a bound volume at the congress opening.
      
Detailed information about the congress program and the preparation of contributions will be made available in further circulars and on the congress homepage at:
http://www.Gottfried-Wilhelm-Leibniz-Gesellschaft.de/Veranstaltungen/Kongress/ . Queries should be addressed to: kongress(at)Leibnizgesellschaft.de or Gottfried-Wilhelm-Leibniz-Gesellschaft, Waterloostr. 8, D-30169 Hannover; Tel. +49 511 1267-331 or -327; Fax +49 511 1267 202.
 

Call for papers (open until May 15., 2010):

Dynamics of Knowledge Creation in Wikis

A session in The 2nd International Power & Knowledge Conference,
Tampere, Finland. September 6-8, 2010
http://tinyurl.com/yfvgyh6

The collective knowledge creation on various wiki-sites, including the massively popular Wikipedia, is having a profound effect on the social and epistemological conditions of public information. Distributed collaboration, possible anonymity, radical equality and global reach of wikified information lead to a situation that at the same time democratizes knowledge production by leveling hierarchies of expertise and increases the postmodern condition of reflective uncertainty. Everybody knows that the Wikipedia can not be trusted in the same way as, say, the Encyclopedia Britannica, yet over 100 million people utilize the Wikipedia daily. The 'edit' and 'history' buttons ever present on wiki pages are already starting to exert pressure on information presented elsewhere. For instance, the negotiations on what information to include and how the information should be presented in various Wikipedia entries constitute a huge experiment in the use of public reason à la Kant. Consequently, the dynamics of collective collaboration also bring out questions on the nature of rationality and plurality of knowledge. Wikis provide ready made windows into the dialectical interplay between knowledge creation and issues of identity, social inclusion, authority, and the interface between information and politics. The session invites contributions discussing these themes through theoretical reflection and/or empirical case studies. Abstracts should be between 150-200 words of length.
Abstract submission: http://tinyurl.com/yk98dgk

Organizers & more information:
Tere Vadén, tere.vaden(at)uta.fi , Teemu Mikkonen, teemu.mikkonen(at)uta.fi,
Juha Suoranta juha.suoranta(at)uta.fi
 

KVS-instituutti/Oriveden Opisto/Lehdistötiedote
Julkaisuvapaa heti

Call for Papers – luovuuden ja kirjoittamisen kansainvälinen konferenssi Oriveden Opistolla 19.-22.11.2010.

Toista kertaa järjestettävässä luovuuden ja kirjoittamisen kansainvälisessä konferenssissa käsitellään sekä populaareja että tieteellisiä tekstejä. Kirjoituksia odotetaan lähinnä tutkijoilta ja opettajilta sekä pitkälle ehtineiltä opiskelijoilta. Konferenssin organisoivat Jyväskylän ja Turun yliopistojen luovan kirjoittamisen oppiaineet, Oriveden Opisto, ENCWP (European Network of Creative Writing Programs) sekä Suomen Sanataideopetuksen Seura, ja se järjestetään Oriveden Opistolla 19.-22.11.2010.

Tekstit voivat sisältää konferenssin teemaan liittyviä ideoita, kokemuksia, metodeja, pedagogisia ajatuksia ja filosofiaa. Myös taiteidenvälistä opettamista ja poikkitieteellisyyttä käsittelevät kirjoitukset ovat tervetulleita.

Konferenssi on tarkoitettu minkä tahansa alan opettajille, kirjoittajakoulutuksen suunnittelijoille sekä muille kirjoittamisen ja luovien alojen työntekijöille. Se soveltuu erinomaisesti niin tutkijoille, kirjailijoille, toimittajille ja kriitikoille kuin opiskelijoillekin. Samalla eri alojen edustajilla on mahdollisuus yhteistyöhön ja ajatustenvaihtoon.

Tekstiehdotusten viimeinen jättöpäivä on 15.06.2010. Ne kirjoitetaan englanniksi ja jätetään osoitteeseen reijo.virtanen(at)kvs.fi. Konferenssin virallinen kieli on englanti.

Lisätietoja:
Oriveden Opisto
Koulutie 5
35300 ORIVESI
puh: 0207 511 511
reijo.virtanen(at)kvs.fi, orivedenopisto(at)kvs.fi
www.orivedenopisto.fi
 

Final call for papers

Re-thinking synonymy: semantic sameness and similarity in languages
and their description

SKY (The Linguistic Association of Finland) organizes a symposium
‘Re-thinking synonymy: semantic sameness and similarity in languages
and their description’ in Helsinki, October 28-30, 2010. The official
website of the symposium, with the Call for Papers and other
information (to be added/updated later), is found at:
http://www.linguistics.fi/synonymy

Traditionally, synonymy refers to a situation where a language has two
(or more) linguistic forms for expressing one meaning. Synonymy is by
no means uncommon in languages, exemplified also by the large number
of synonym dictionaries and thesauri. However, it is important to note
that the existence or lack of synonymy is largely a matter of
definition. On one hand, if we define synonymy as (very close)
semantic similarity or (essentially) identical reference, it
definitely exists to some extent in all languages. On the other hand,
if we confine the notion to absolute synonymy (comprising not only
reference, but also, for example, stylistic and sociolinguistic
factors as well as contextual preferences), it becomes less clear
whether synonymy really exists.

Many theories of grammar (such as Cognitive Grammar and some versions
of Construction Grammar) do not acknowledge the concept of synonymy at
all. Synonymy seems to militate against the expected relation of
meaning and form: a difference in form should always and necessarily
correspond to a difference in meaning. However, within these theories
(and within linguistics in general), a recurring topic of study is
lexical, constructional, functional and formal similarity. In
addition, current research seems to steer clear of synonymy (and
sameness), but at the same time puts a great deal of emphasis on
similarities, e.g. when and why two or more constructions with
seemingly similar meanings are used as each other's alternatives. But
where does the boundary lie between the two, i.e. when do we cross
over from synonymy to mere similarity, or vice versa, and, moreover,
how different can two constructions or expressions be and yet still be
considered similar in terms of their meaning/
function? Do all synonymous expressions share a common conceptual
(abstract) schema, and are the formal differences merely
‘coincidental’? What is the relation between these schemas and lexical
(i.e. ‘traditional’) synonymy?

The idea of the symposium is to challenge linguists both to re-think
the synonymy and sameness of linguistic expressions and to approach
the concept of synonymy from a broader perspective. What we propose is
that synonymy is best seen as sameness or similarity of forms and
functions – whether words, constructions or syntactic structures – not
only as a notion related to lexical semantics. For example, many
languages, such as Finnish and Estonian, allow the expression of
location through both cases and adpositions, and many languages have
both intransitive and transitive reflexive forms; these expressions
may be identical in meaning in certain contexts, but upon closer
examination they also display differences.

In brief: Does a difference in form always correspond to a difference
in meaning/function? If so, is there any justification for the
validity of the notion of synonymy in linguistic description? If
synonymy really exists on some level, do we need to broaden the
concept of synonymy and if so, how? What does the way that synonymy
has been studied tell us about language and, perhaps as interestingly,
about linguistics?

We welcome contributions dealing with synonymy from various
perspectives and backgrounds (including theoretical, empirical and
experimental approaches), ranging  from studies of lexical, functional
and formal synonymy to studies of synonymy within and across
languages. Possible topics for talks include (but are by no means not
restricted to) the following:

- The role of synonymy in linguistic theory
- Corpus-based studies of (lexical/functional) synonymy
- Psycholinguistic studies of synonymy/processing of synonymy
- Seemingly synonymous/similar categories across languages (e.g.
dative, reflexive, person, tense, deixis etc.), comparability of
functions across languages
- The role of synonymy in lexical typology: do ‘identical’ lexemes in
different languages express identical/similar meanings?
- Translatability of lexemes
- The development of synonymy; competition of synonymous forms in
grammaticalization/lexicalization
- Synonymy in different theories of grammar
- The relation between lexical (‘traditional’) synonymy and functional
synonymy
- Potential differences between sameness and similarity; is the
distinction meaningful or necessary?
- What does synonymy (at any level/in any form) reveal about language?
- What motivates the use of seemingly synonymous forms? Context,
meaning, sociolinguistic factors, disambiguation, verbal semantics etc.
- The synonymy of syntactic structural variants (e.g. differences in
comparative constructions)
- Synonymy of constructions within and across languages
- Semantic vs. pragmatic synonymy

The deadline for submission of abstracts (in English; max 500 words
excluding data, tables and references) is April 16, 2010. Please
submit your abstract by e-mail to the address of the organizing
committee (synonymy-2010 /at/ Helsinki.fi). Send your abstract as
attachment to an e-mail message (in both .pdf and .doc formats).
Please indicate clearly whether your abstract is intended as a poster
or a section paper. The abstracts will be evaluated by the organizing
committee and by the members of the scientific committee (see below).
Participants will be notified about acceptance by May 15, 2010. The
book of abstracts will be published on the web pages of the symposium
at:

http://www.linguistics.fi/synonymy/abstracts.shtml

Body of the message should include the following information
(preferably in this order):

Name of the participant
Title of presentation
Affiliation
E-mail address
Is the paper meant as a section paper or, a poster, or a workshop

Workshops

The deadline for submitting workshop proposals was March 15.

Activities

- Presentations by invited speakers
- Presentation by other participants
- Posters
- Workshops

Confirmed invited speakers

Dirk Geeraerts (University of Leuven)
Martin Haspelmath (MPI, Leipzig)
Beth Levin (Stanford University)

Scientific committee

Antti Arppe (University of Helsinki)
Peter Austin (SOAS, London)
Denis Creissels (University of Lyon)
Dagmar Divjak (University of Sheffield)
Adele Goldberg (Princeton University)
Stefan Gries (UCSB)
Tuomas Huumo (University of Tartu)
Laura Janda (University of Tromsø)
Jarmo Jantunen (University of Oulu)
Silvia Luraghi (University of Pavia)
Sally Rice (University of Alberta)
Anna Siewierska (University of Lancaster)
Bernhard Wälchli (University of Berne)

Organizing committee

Antti Arppe (University of Helsinki)
Seppo Kittilä (University of Helsinki)
Aki Kyröläinen (University of Turku)
Maarit Niemelä (University of Oulu)
Alexandre Nikolaev (University of Joensuu)
Jouni Rostila (University of Tampere)
Turo Vartiainen (University of Helsinki)
Laura Visapää (University of Helsinki)

Registration

The registration deadline is October 1, 2010. An on-line registration
form to the symposium will appear on the webpage of the symposium
after the evaluation of abstracts.

Registration fees

General: 100 Euro
Members of the association: 80 Euro
Undergraduate students: 50 Euro

Finnish participants are requested to pay the registration fee to the
SKY bank account when they register for the conference (bank account
number 174530-71243 (Nordea)). Participants from abroad are likewise
requested to pay in advance by bank transfer, if at all possible, to
the SKY bank account in Finland (Bank: Nordea; IBAN: FI76 1745 3000
0712 43, BIC: NDEAFIHH). However, we may also accept payment IN CASH
(only in Euros; moreover, we CANNOT accept credit cards of any sort)
upon arrival in case bank transfer is not possible. If you have paid
via bank transfer from abroad, we would kindly ask you to bring a COPY
of the original transaction receipt with you and present it upon
registration.

Conference venue

University of Helsinki

Contact

Please send all queries to synonymy-2010 /at/ helsinki.fi
 

CALL FOR PAPERS

POPULISM, THE 17TH SUMMER SCHOOL OF CULTURAL STUDIES
University of Jyväskylä, June 3 – 5, 2010

In Finland as elsewhere in Europe, rapid social change, multicultural
challenges, and the way different kinds of threat are disseminated by the
media for public imagination, have given rise to populist appeals to
cultural values and to populist political movements. Such appeals and
movements are not limited to Europe or to the West, but the main empirical
emphasis in the Summer School will be on Finnish and European forms of
populism.

”Populism” is an ambivalent concept. In its etymology, it refers to ”the
people”, and the common definition has it as a particular way of appealing
to the people. It generally has a negative connotation: the populist
appeal is at the same time black-and-white and diffuse, it shuns
difference, it is grounded in mythisized fundamental values, and it unites
by discrimination. Today, this kind of populism is most clearly
articulated in right-wing political movements, but it is not difficult to
find variations of this rhetoric throughout the political spectrum. Thus
populism can be regarded as a special kind of rhetoric which may contain
different cultural values and serve various political agendas.

Populism unites mass appeal with strong exclusions. However, it is part of
the ambivalence of the concept that it has also been used (especially in
the American context) as a designation for radically inclusive democratic
movements such as the civil rights movement. It has been said that
”populism” has no referential unity; rather, it is a social logic, closely
linked with the notion and practices of hegemony, which cuts across
different kinds of phenomena. Understood in this way, critical discussion
of populism tends to move from the mode of persuasion to the specific
contents and agendas themselves, to the meanings and values promoted or
countered with populist rhetoric.

The relationship between ”the popular” and ”populism” also belongs to the
themes of the Summer School. The term ”cultural populism” refers to a
rejection of elitism by adopting a diametrically opposed default position
where no attention is paid to the possible ideological or reifying
elements in popular culture, and where any provided meanings or modes of
appeal are viewed in terms of the consumers' sovereign power.

The Summer School has a multi- and cross-disciplinary orientation. It
invites presentations addressing concrete phenomena or focusing on
theoretical issues arising from the ambiguity or cross-referential nature
of the concept and practice of populism. The main emphasis lies on
contemporary phenomena, but historical perspectives are also welcomed. The
frame of possible subjects comprises multiculturalism and immigration,
nationalist and ethnic agendas, religious allegiances and gender issues.
Within such frames, what kinds of power struggle and protest find
expression in populist movements? In which ways are the elite and the
people, the subjects and the objects of power played against each other in
populist rhetoric? Which ideological and affective discourses are included
in different populist agendas, and how are they rhetorically composed?
What is the relationship between productive and repressive power in this
context? Who is empowered and who is disempowered?


Teachers:

Jim McGuigan is Professor of Cultural Analysis in the Department of Social
Sciences at Loughborough University, Leicestershire, UK. His interests
cover contemporary social theory, cultural studies and policy, and
television and representation. He has published a number of books, among
them "Cultural Populism" (1992). Currently, he is working on two main
research themes: ‘cool capitalism’ and ‘funny politics’. His most recent
publications include "Cool Capitalism" (2009).

Petri Ruuska is Research Fellow in the Department of Social Research at
the University of Tampere, Finland. Since 2007, he has been an Academy
Research Fellow for "Nationspeak in action" and "Suuri murros 1905 ja
kansapuheen variaatiot" ["The Great Divide 1905 and the Variations of
Nationspeak"]. He is the co-author of the recently published "Kuriton
kansa. Poliittinen mielikuvitus vuoden 1905 suurlakon ajan Suomessa"
["Wayward Nation. Political Imagination and the Great Strike 1905 in
Finland"] (2009).

Chair: Prof. Erkki Vainikkala, the Research Centre for Contemporary
Culture, Department of Art and Culture Studies, University of Jyväskylä.


The seminar sessions are meant for post-graduate students whose work is
related to the topic of the summer school, while the adjoining lectures
are open for everyone. The summer school is free of charge. During seminar
sessions, each paper will be allotted about one hour, out of which 10–15
minutes are reserved for the actual presentation. The teachers will be
giving feedback on the papers, but peer discussion is emphasized.

The language of the summer school is English. Please note that attendance
is required throughout the summer school.

The summer school is part of the activities of the Society for Cultural
Studies in Finland. It is organized by the Research Centre for
Contemporary Culture, Department of Art and Culture Studies at the
University of Jyväskylä. The organizers thankfully acknowledge the support
of the Faculty of Humanities.


HOW TO APPLY:

Please send your application by Friday, April 16 to:

Kulttuurintutkimuksen seura
c/o Nykykulttuurin tutkimuskeskus
PL 35, 40014 Jyväskylän yliopisto
-
Society for Cultural Studies in Finland
c/o Research Centre for Contemporary Studies
P.O.Box 35
FI-40014 University of Jyväskylä
Finland

Or by e-mail to:
minna.m.nerg(at)jyu.fi

Your application should include:

• an abstract of 100-200 words, based on the paper you will be presenting
• a short presentation of yourself and  your research topic with its
theoretical orientation, methods and materials

The applicants will be notified of the decision Friday, April 23.

Deadline for papers is May 17.


For more information:

e-mail minna.m.nerg(at)jyu.fi
phone +358 14 260 1317
or visit http://www.jyu.fi/kultut/populism