Dissonant Discourses

"A given socio-historical moment is never homogeneous; on the contrary, it is rich in contradictions." -- Antonio Gramsci

The University of Oklahoma Student Association of Graduate English Scholars (S.A.G.E.S) and the OU English Department will host the second annual conference, Dissonant Discourses: An Interdisciplinary Conference, in the Oklahoma Memorial Union on January 25, 2013.

The social/cultural context of cohesion masks the dissonance that often lies beneath. It is the dissensions, contradictions, disputes, and differences of human interactions that drive the world. Within this world of discord and hesitant alliances, those dissonant discourses are celebrated or condemned and continuously vie for recognition. Dissonant voices are present in everything from large-scale reorganization to day-to-day exchanges and challenges old traditions, questions and promotes ways of thinking, creates new truths, or even reestablishes dominance.

This conference honors the dissonant discourses found in literature, history, culture, sociological relations, pedagogical imperatives, politics, anthropological inquiries, and numerous other possible forms. The possible approaches to this topic afford many exciting opportunities for scholarly work and we welcome broad interpretations of our conference theme, with the understanding that innovation often resists categorization. Possible paper topics and panels include, but are not limited to, the following:

American Literature
Anthropology
Colonial/Postcolonial Theory
Conquest/Imperialism
Cosmopolitanism
Creative Works
Cultural Encounters
Ecocriticism and environmental studies
Ethnicity and national identity
Film and television
Gender studies and sexuality
Genetics
Ideas of Nationhood
Identity
Indigenous Studies
Law
Local/Regional Political Initiatives
Medieval
Modernist Studies
Military
Music Studies
Pop Culture
Sports
Theory
Travel Literature
Visual Art

Our keynote speaker is Dr. LeAnne Howe, an author, dramatist, scholar, and professor at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. An enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation, she is the celebrated author of Miko Kings, Shell Shaker, and The Evidence of Red. Her dramatic works have been produced throughout the United States, and she has been presented her fiction both nationally and internationally. In 2010-2011, she was a J. William Fulbright Scholar at the University of Jordan, Amman, researching her latest novel.

As an incentive for submission to our conference, we would like to inform applicants that we have been in contact with several journals for the possibility of publication for a special issue. To be clear submission and acceptance to the conference is not a guarantee of publication at this or any time. However, we will continue to aggressively pursue this possibility and keep an open dialogue with journals we have contacted.

Please send an abstract not exceeding 250 words to sages@ou.edu no later than Friday, October 12, 2012.