This conference seeks to address the myriad definitions of ethics and how it
is represented in literature and other texts. The moment of ethical
decision often occurs at the point of impasse, of dilemma, of crisis that
springs from the space between two opposing ideas, when an easy or
prescriptive decision is not possible. Rather, each impasse requires an
ethical, scriptive fluidity whose focus is social as well as personal;
ambivalence, therefore, emerges as an ethical response to such a crisis. To
be sure, though, this space is difficult to occupy, much less sustain. In
Gayatri Spivak's words, "ethics is the experience of the impossible." What
is kindness? Empathy? Forgiveness? Dissent? Revolution? Peace? Should
ethical acts preserve difference (i.e., between ideas, between self and
other) or eradicate it, or something in-between? What consequences and
opportunities arise from ethical immorality? Unethical morality? Wherever
people relate to, connect with, and break off from each other, ethics are
concerned; a social question is also an ethical question. We encourage
papers that explore ethics from this point of view as well as others.

 We encourage specific focus on the following topics:

Ethics in Literature

Ethics and English Studies (e.g., canonicity, pedagogy, service)

Ethics in Popular Culture

Ethics and the archive

Ethics in editorial processes

Ethics vs. Morality

Ethics and politics

The Ethics of reading

Ethics and philosophy

Ethics and Empathy/Sympathy

Medical Ethics

Ethics and Aesthetics

Ethics and Religion

Please send proposals of 250-500 words to acaciagroup_at_gmail.com by December
15. We welcome panel proposals as well as individual topic proposals and
poster sessions. Poster sessions are well-suited for topics that might lend
themselves to more visual presentations or more involved discussion with a
smaller audience, and more information about them can be found here:
http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/speaking/poster/pop2i.cfm.

Papers and panels that focus on other topics are also welcome.

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Received on Sun Nov 12 2006 - 23:45:26 EST