[spectre] CFP: Conference on Theory of Art/ Cultural Studies, Bern

[Sebastian Baden]

CFP. Transdisciplinary Graduate Student Conference:
Terminator - the Potential of the End. Coping
Strategies and Destruction as Creative Processes,
University of the Arts Berne/ Switzerland
(05/02/2005; 07/09-10/2005)

We encourage the submission of  proposals for the
Graduate Student Conference „Terminator – The
Potential of the End. Coping Strategies and
Destruction as Creative Processes“ hosted by the
Department of Fine Arts at the University of the Arts
Bern, July 09-10, 2005.

Issue:
The conference’s goal is to investigate the creative
power of  terms such as „destruction“ and „coping
strategies“. The conference’s titel „terminator“
refers metaphorically to the actionmovie-trilogy from
Hollywood.  Good and  Evil are confronted in an
artistic context, where  human intelligence is trying
to avoid the apocalypse and the decline of mankind.
The Terminator-figure, which, in contrast to the
mortal human, represents the reification of human
intelligence in form of an immortal machine,
symbolizes salvation. However, the salvator has to
commit suicide, in order to hinder the future into
being „what it was before.“
Conflicts, challenges and destructive threats are the
basic parts of narrative plots, literally beginning
from Genesis to the Apocalypse in the Bible over
demands of the intellectual avantgardes of modernism
to the pop-culture of the 21st century.
Artists and scientists have in recents times been
especially confronted with and negotiated the phenomia
of destruction, its origins and consequences. This
raises the question about what reconstruction and
creation mean to us. 
Catastrophies give reason to reflect the past and to
develop new coping strategies and solutions. 
New discoveries and theories may destroy common views
of the world and create different ones.  Political and
scientific revolutions have a mostly destructive 
impact on social systems, the fear of apocalypse or
promised redemption and apocatastasis become questions
of belief. All these existential problems and
challenges have to be coped with. The postulation of
the New is linked with the destruction of the „Old“.
Each „End“ always means a new beginning or – with a
certain philosophical cynism, so to speak – „after the
orgy there comes the next one.“

How can destruction be defined? Where does it start,
where does it end? Who are the modern Barbarians? What
causes destruction and who decides what is to be
destroyed? How may we deal and cope with catastrophic
events? Can and would it be possible to avoid 
destruction? Can destruction be instrumentalized in a
productive way?
Which disciplines are concerned with destruction?
Which role does destruction play in the arts and
sciences? Which destructive processes have to be
beared in the pursuit of a goal? Does destruction
cause the „NEW“?
What do limits mean with respect to destruction? How
do we  bear down obstacles? Why is the evil so
fascinating? Is destruction now regarded seriously,
neutrally, ironically or  does it get „totally
aethetizised“ – like September 11th -  by some culture
interprets?
This conference aims to find significant contributions
to these and similar questions and to explore their
context.

Notes on application:
This is an explicitely transdisciplinary conference
which reaches out to collect scientific and artistic
positions from all fields of research and production.
Not only artistic fields like visual arts, drama,
music or literature are encouraged to take part, but
also cultural studies, medicine, sport,
natural-sciences, technical engineering etc.
We invite graduate students from all fields and
faculties to submit proposals presenting their ideas
according to the theme.


The primary languages of the conference are German and
English. Presentations should not extend 30 minutes,
each of them followed by a 10 min. discussion with the
audience.

Please send an abstract of 250-400 words in either
German or English as MS-Word attachment .
On a separate cover sheet please list the proposed
paper’s title, author’s name, affiliation and e-mail
address. Please indicate whether you will require
technological support. 


Submission Deadline for proposals is:  May, 2nd, 2005 
 -   Applicants will be notified of the commitee’s
decision  by the middle of May.

No registration fees are required,  each lecture will
be supported by CHF 150,- .
Accomodation will be provided (upon choice with HKB
Students).
Please pay attention to future CFP updates that 
announce the keynote speakers as well as the URL of
the conference website. For further information see:
www. hkb.bfh.ch

Executive organizer: Sebastian  Baden (Stud.);
bades1 at hkb.bfh.ch

Hochschule der Künste Bern
c/o Sebastian Baden
Fachbereich Gestaltung und Kunst
Fellerstr. 11

CH – 3027 Bern




	

	
		
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