Deadline extension: Abstracts now due Dec. 3, 2008

Second Comings and Strange Goings (On): Versions of the Messianic

Seminar Organizers:

Jay Twomey, University of Cincinnati (jay.twomey_at_uc.edu)
W. David Hall, Centre College (wdavid.hall_at_centre.edu)

In the Gospel of John, Jesus tells his disciples, on the eve of his
crucifixion, “if I do not go away, the Paraclete will not come to you”
(16:7 NRSV). This nexus of arrival and departure, of a future coming at the
expense of the departing present and its specific pasts, is characteristic
of the messianic in a variety of its manifestations â€" in religious texts,
in writers like Nicanor Parra, Gore Vidal, Pier Paolo Pasolini, in
theorists like Walter Benjamin and his interlocutors, in theologians like
Catherine Keller, in films or television shows like the new Battlestar
Galactica, and so on. Taking up the theme of the 2008 American Comparative
Literature Association meeting in Long Beach, CA, “Arrivals and
Departures,” this panel seeks to engage scholars from across the humanities
in a series of discussions on the messianic. What is it? What is it not?
How does it work? Where can we find it? And most importantly: is it good
for us? Prospective panelists whose work draws upon relevant scholarship in
religious studies and/or recent work by theorists such as Giorgio Agamben
will be given highest priority. Most ACLA panels function as two- and
three-day seminars. We are running a three-day seminar, for which we will
only consider participants who can commit to staying for the duration of
the conference (April 24-27, 2008).

For more information, please contact the seminar organizers at the email
addresses above. Please submit your paper proposals directly to the ACLA
Web site (http://www.acla.org/acla2008/?p=48) by December 3, 2007.

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Received on Tue Nov 13 2007 - 20:38:37 EST