ALL FOR PAPERS
October 31st, 2006
THE HUMAN CONDITION SERIES
Inaugural International Multidisciplinary Conference
Conference Theme: EMPIRE
May 17-19, 2007
Laurentian University, Georgian College
Barrie, Ontario
http://humancondition.wordpress.com/

What I relate is the history of the next two centuries. I am describing what
is coming: the advent of nihilism. This history can now be related already,
for necessity is at work here. This future already speaks in a hundred
signs, this destiny announces itself everywhere; for this music of the
future all ears are cocked even now. For some time now, our whole European
culture has been moving as toward a catastrophe, with a tortured tension
that is growing from decade to decade: restlessly, violently, headlong, like
a river that wants to reach the end, that no longer reflects, that is afraid
to reflect.
~ Nietzsche

The Human Condition is subject to a multitude of discursive intersections
that are at once a reflection of our condition and the re-production of our
re-condition. In the shadow of techno-science, globalization and
environmental degradation, the human condition has become increasingly
complex, fragmented and entrenched, while simultaneously being estranged
from both itself and the various points of its¹ conditioning.

The Human Condition is in need of critical reflection and intervention. The
urgency to reflect on the human condition outside of past and future
sentimentalities becomes a necessary task for those who refuse to resign to
the repetition of the forces that make the present unbearable, even
unlivable. That is, the present bears witness to a perpetual persistence of
the anti-life forces that simultaneously rework and rearrange the political,
juridical, market, cultural, religious and secular fundamentalisms of our
time. In the vicissitudes of the making and the naturalizing project of
Empire, Empire itself becomes a human condition, a condition of mourning, as
well as an injunction that is imposed upon us both quantitatively and
qualitatively. It is within this historical juncture that we seek to
articulate, examine and locate the architectonics of Empire, to intervene in
Empire as terror and in the terrorizing forces of Empire.

The series - The Human Condition - is an international, multidisciplinary
conference that seeks to address the current state of the human condition.

This year¹s theme in the Human Condition Series is Empire.

In 1995, Parenti noted that Empire is seldom accorded any serious attention
by academics, the media, or politicians. In 2000, Hardt and Negri¹s book
Empire reoriented the discourse on globalization and imperialism to reflect
shifts under postmodernity. Since then, the concept of Empire has been
employed by numerous writers and has made its way into the public sphere as
a point of debate and as a means of understanding contemporary global
conditions. The concept of Empire, however, has become increasingly
important in a post 911 world with the heightened persistence of militarism,
racism, corporatism, and authoritarianism. The conference on Empire seeks to
interrogate several broad questions such as what is the human condition of
Empire and how has Empire affected the human condition.
Leading scholars in the field, Michael Hardt, coauthor of Multitude: War and
Democracy in the Age of Empire (2004) and Empire (2000); Michael Parenti,
author of The Assassination of Julius Caesar (2003) and Against Empire
(1995) and Arthur Kroker, author of The Will to Technology and the Culture
of Nihilism (2004) and Digital Delrium (1997) will present keynote
addresses.

The following call for submissions for this inaugural international,
multidisciplinary conference on The Human Condition seeks to examine, expand
and promote themes and research related to Empire. Proposals exploring the
widest range of topics relating to Empire are invited, including the
viability of Empire and imperialist practices in the stabilizing of Œfailed
states¹ and the institution of democracy and human rights around the world.
 Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
? Histories, Myths, Memories, and Representations of Empire
? Militarism, Terrorism and Human Rights under Empire
? Living in the Margins of Empire
? Strategies, Technologies and Practices of Empire
? The Semiotics, Rhetoric, and Discourse of Empire
? Enlightenment Philosophy and the Persistence of Imperial Logic
? Cognition, Consciousness, and Perception of Empire
? Post-Imperialism and the Role of the State
? Resistance to, and Reformation of Empire

Guidelines for Proposals:
Your abstract will include your name, affiliation, and the title of your
presentation, and should be limited to 250-300 words in which you describe
the topic and, if applicable, your research process or methodologies. All
abstracts are subject to review by the conference committee. Deadline for
submissions is January 15, 2007. Submissions should be sent to:
conference07_at_georgianc.on.ca

Call for Publication:
Papers presented may be considered for publication. If you are unable to
attend the conference, we invite you to submit an abstract for possible
publication. The above guidelines and deadline remain the same for all essay
proposals.
We look forward to receiving your proposals and hope you will be able to
join us in May 2007.
Sincerely,
The Human Condition Series organizing committee

For further information about the call for papers and the conference go to:
http://humancondition.wordpress.com/

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Received on Tue Nov 28 2006 - 18:00:02 EST