[spectre] SLSA 2011 - Society for Literature Science and the Arts

[Oliver Grau]

CALL FOR PAPERS--SLSA 2011  

25th Annual Meeting of the Society for Literature Science and the Arts

PLACE: Kitchener, Ontario
VENUE: Delta Hotel Kitchener, THEMUSEUM, Critical Media Lab (all within
three short city blocks) 
DATES: September 22-25, 2011  
SITE COORDINATOR: Marcel O*Gorman, University of Waterloo 
PROGRAM CHAIRS: Melissa Littlefield and Robert Markley, U. of Illinois;
Susan Squier, Penn State U.  
DUE DATE FOR PANEL, POSTER, AND ARTISTIC CONTRIBUTIONS: April 1, 2011 
NOTIFICATION FOR ACCEPTANCE OF SUBMISSIONS: June 15, 2011  
SLSA MEMBERSHIP:  Participants in the 2011 conference must be 2011
members of the Society for Literature Science and the Arts. For more
information about SLSA, please visit the organization website at
www.litsciarts.org.  

PHARMAKON
The theme for 2011 is *PHARMAKON,* that which can both kill and
cure. From Socrates* hemlock to nuclear radiation, the pharmakon
offers an opportunity to explore the concept of indeterminacy as it
applies to a number of research topics, including the following:
*	bioarts
*	critical media theory
*	bioethics
*	medical humanities
*	new frontiers in digital media
*	animal studies
*	environmentalism and ecological studies
*	new directions in rhetoric and writing studies
*	the history and philosophy of science
*	gender and/in science studies
PLEASE NOTE: This is an open conference where a wide range of work will
be welcome. Proposed topics can represent ANY work in literature and
science, history of science, philosophy of science, science and art, or
science studies. 

Plenary speakers for 2011 are BERNARD STIEGLER (Institut de Recherche
et d*Innovation, Author of Technics and Time, etc.) and ISABELLE
STENGERS (Université de Bruxelles, author of Cosmopolitics, etc.).

For panel contributions, submit a 250-word abstract with title.
Pre-organized panels for consideration can contain an additional summary
paragraph along with proposed session title.  Submit proposals and
register at http://www.litsciarts.org/slsa11/.

NEW FOR 2011: Poster Presentations. Poster presentations are
traditionally under the purview of scientific conferences. This year,
SLSA would like to challenge the boundaries of the poster presentation
as well as provide space for more scientists to get involved with the
society. If you would like to present your research in the form of a
poster, we will have dedicated space to do so. Presenters will have an
opportunity to discuss their work informally, and they MUST attend the
conference for their work to be shown.

THE *A* IN SLSA
This year*s conference will include, among other interventions,
bicycle tours of contemporary public art. For 2011, we are teaming up
with THEMUSEUM of Kitchener and the Contemporary Art Forum of Kitchener
+ Area (CAFKA). THEMUSEUM will be exhibiting a retrospective of
computational art entitled Rethinking Art & Machine (RAM), and CAFKA
will be holding its biennial festival of public art, which will provide
a larger context for the conference. The theme for CAFKA 2011 is
*survive.resist*. This collaboration is designed to place more
emphasis on the *A* in SLSA. To this end, we welcome panel proposals
from artists and scholars interested in public art and the theme of
*survive.resist,* in addition to arts-oriented papers and panels
on the theme of *PHARMAKON.* 

We invite proposals from artists for an SLSA exhibition to be held in
the Critical Media Lab. Proposals will be considered in the context of
the conference theme of *PHARMAKON.* Please visit the Critical Media
Lab web site to better understand the context for this exhibition
(http://criticalmedia.uwaterloo.ca). Artistic proposals must
include a 1-2-page description that clearly outlines the project and its
relationship to  *Pharmakon,* as well as technical and space
requirements. Artists must also provide up to 5 pages of images and/or a
URL to a web site that clearly illustrates the proposed work and/or
previous work that is relevant to the proposal. All submissions and
questions should be addressed to Marcel O*Gorman
(marcel at uwaterloo.ca). Participating artists will have full
access to all conference activities, and will not have to pay
registration fees or SLSA dues. They will also be eligible for SLSA
Travel Awards (see below).

BOOK + ART PANELS: The SLSA Publications Committee is soliciting
proposals from published authors, artists, and curators who wish to
discuss their RECENT work in a longer format than a regular panel
presentation. The panel will consist of the author/artist/curator and
two respondents/commentators. Please send a brief proposal or
nomination, and a list of possible respondents/commentators to Ron
Broglio (Ronald.Broglio at asu.edu), who will share it with the rest of the
Publications Committee (Elizabeth Wilson and Rob Mitchell).

-- 
Carol Colatrella
Professor, School of Literature, Communication, and Culture
Co-Director, Georgia Tech Center for the Study of Women, Science, and
Technology
office phone: 404 894 1241
email: carol.colatrella at lcc.gatech.edu