cfp.english.upenn.edu

American Comparative Literature Association (ACLA) conference
Vancouver, Canada
March 31-April 3, 2011

Deadline for paper proposals: November 12, 2010

Sound Politics
This seminar aims to draw out several methodological and theoretical issues involving sound and its relation to the political realm. How might a focus on aural practices and the auditory sense lead us to rethink presuppositions about political agency and critique? How have ideas about sound and certain aural practices shaped particular political ideologies, or even the category of ideology itself? Is it possible to theorize acoustics as an arena of contestation? How do technological media become racialized and gendered? Is there such a thing as ‘hearing’ class? Our goal is to bring together scholars from a range of disciplines and theoretical perspectives and to explore (dis)junctures of sound and the political in a wide array of geographical contexts and historical periods.

Please note: ACLA seminars involve up to 12 participants and meet over the course of 3 days. Paper proposals must be submitted via the conference website. Go to http://www.acla.org/acla2011/, click on ‘Propose a Paper or Seminar,’ and follow instructions. Be sure to select Sound Politics from the list of seminars.

Questions? Feel free to contact either or both of the seminar organizers:
Sarah J. Townsend sjtownsend@berkeley.edu
Tom McEnaney mcenaney@berkeley.edu