cfp.english.upenn.edu

It has become increasingly difficult to conceive of our culture as following a dialectical progression from a shared past into a collective future, whether utopian or dystopian. We find ourselves instead at a point at which “The Future,” a key concept in all branches of Western thought, creativity and experience, is replaced by myriad “Futures” of immediate relevance and consequence. How is our relationship to the future changing, and how do we actualise these potential futures?

The editors of antiTHESIS are seeking papers exploring the concept of futures to be published in Volume 21 of the journal. Graduate students and researchers from all disciplines within the arts, humanities and social sciences are invited to submit.

Submission guidelines

Deadline: 11 October 2010

Submissions may take the form of
-Research articles 5,000-8,000 words in length.
-Reviews (books, films, exhibitions, performances, etc.) up to 1,000 words.
-Creative writing (short fiction, creative non-fiction) up to 3,000 words.
-Poetry up to 50 lines.
-Artwork (paintings, drawings, photography, digital art, etc.).

Research articles will undergo a double-blind refereeing process before publication. Reviews, creative writing, poetry and artwork will not be refereed.

Submissions should be sent to editor.antithesis@gmail.com. Written submissions should be Microsoft Word documents, while artwork should be sent as 150 dpi JPG or PDF files each not exceeding 3 MB (if accepted, images of higher resolution or in other forms may be requested preceding publication). All submissions should be accompanied by an a biography (100 words maximum), and research articles should also include an abstract (300 words maximum).

Please do not submit work that is currently under consideration elsewhere. Further details and a style guide for written submissions are available on the antiTHESIS website at www.antithesis.unimelb.edu.au.

Suggested topics include, but are not limited to:

-Terminus: the perceived ends of art, theory, ideology and history (and what comes after)

-Alternative cultural and Indigenous perceptions of temporality

-Future places and spaces

-Future bodies, future minds

-SF: speculative and science fiction

-Futures of communication: new forms of language and media

-Futures of diaspora, race and migration

-Genetic futures: neo-hybridity and bio-technics

-Technology: innovation, renovation and obsolescence

-Retro-futurism: past visions of the future in design and fashion

-Possible worlds: future political and social models

-Environmental futures

-Future memory and memorialisation

-Apocalyptic visions