CFP: Fundamentalism and Literature (Germany) (6/1/06; 11/19/06-11/22/06)
Call for Papers:
***Fundamentalism and Literature - Global/Local***
An International Conference at the
University of Muenster, Germany, November 19-22, 2006
Ever since, on February 14, 1989, Ayatollah Khomeini declared the notorious fatwa that sentenced Salman Rushdie and "all those involved in [the] publication" of The Satanic Verses to death, the insight must have become global that literature and the kind of fundamentalism current in the later decades of the twentieth century had mutual resonances which could no longer be neglected or overlooked. With recent events, from the 9/11 World Trade Center mayhem to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the bombings in Madrid, London, and Amman, as well as the still unresolved conflict in the Middle East, fundamentalism has come to signal one of the most pressing concerns of our time.
Literature – itself a constitutive feature of most fundamentalisms which usually have a strong textual focus – has emerged not only as a bone of contention, but also a vehicle for negotiating with, and of responding to, fundamentalisms.
So far, research into fundamentalism has been focused mostly on its religious, social or political origins and implications. The aims of this conference are to explore the manifold reverberations of fundamentalisms in literature in English and to initiate a transdisciplinary exchange of ideas on this subject of ever growing global importance. Contributors from all academic disciplines are therefore particularly encouraged to enquire into the functions which accrue to literature within fundamentalism(s) and into negotiations within literature with various fundamentalisms (Christian, Islamic, Hindu, and Jewish etc.). In addition, the societal relevance and opportunities of the literary negotiations of fundamentalisms may be addressed with a view to their contribution towards peaceful solutions of social co-existence and integration.
The city of Muenster (Germany) aptly suggests itself as a conference venue for this topic, as it is the historic site of the Peace of Westphalia that brought an end to thirty years' religious strife brutally ravaging Europe in the seventeenth century.
Deadline for Abstracts (300 words): ***1 June 2006***
Conference Fees: € 20 (speakers); € 40 (others): payable at registration office on arrival. Students are asked to register, but are exempt from the conference fee.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Klaus Stierstorfer
Westfaelische Wilhelms-Universitaet
Englisches Seminar
Johannisstraße 12–20
D-48143 Muenster
Email: stierstorfer_at_uni-muenster.de
Tel. ++49-(0)251-83-24295 (Secretary, Mo-Fri, 8:00–12:00)
Fax: ++49-(0)251-83-24289
or: fundlit_at_uni-muenster.de
Conference Website: www.anglistik.uni-muenster.de/fundamentalism
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Received on Sat Jan 21 2006 - 13:51:09 EST