cfp.english.upenn.edu

The mixed formal properties of certain texts across the history of philosophy and literature resist any attempt at their easy classification within either of these traditional generic categories. Such philosophical-literary hybrid texts seem to deny the adequacy of either strictly philosophical or literary form for expressing a particular content or inducing some affective or intellectual experience. This panel seeks to explore questions raised by the philosophical-literary hybrid text, in all its historical and geographical variation. What is the relationship between the hybrid form of some philosophical-literary text and its content? What are the stakes of philosophical-literary hybridity for some author? How can we understand intrinsically philosophical-literary hybrid modes of cultural production (e.g. myth)? Key examples of hybrid texts include Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time and Plato’s Symposium. Work addressing philosophical-literary hybridity in any geographical region and historical era is welcome.

Abstracts should not exceed 350 words and should be sent to amalinowska@uchicago.edu by Tuesday, June 1st. Presentations should be 15 to 20 minutes.