cfp.english.upenn.edu

From the trenches to the atom bomb, the modernist period was disturbingly defined by new military realities, ideologies, and mythologies that spread the globe. New forms of conflict and revolution were not limited to the battlefield, however. Militarism affected everything from art and literary movements to class, race, and gender relations. Consider for example the militant poetic ideals of Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot, or Virginia Woolf’s exploration of military fashion as a form of masculine spectacle, or the effects of Hemingway’s war experiences on his narrative style. In what ways might these modern military movements be conceived as a form of spectacle? How did the political desire to display power and allegiance affect military discipline and techniques of destruction? Or, how were these military spectacles then incorporated into various works of art? How did military spectacle affect those serving in the military versus civilians at home? What connections might be made between authorship and authoritarianism in regards to militant discipline? What of the spectacle of propaganda and how did it connect art with military?

This panel considers these questions and others related to the spectacle of modern military movements in the intervening period between the beginning of World War 1 and the end of World War 2. We welcome papers from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, including but not limited to: literature, architecture, economics, history, historiography, film studies, military theory, fashion, philosophy, social science, political science, etc.

Please send 300-word abstracts and CVs to Katherine Thorsteinson (thorstek@cc.umanitoba.ca) or Jeremy Strong (jeremy.strong@gmail.com) by April 5th.