ESSE Conference, Istanbul, 4-8 September 2012

full name / name of organization: 
The European Society for the Study of English

ESSE Conference, Istanbul 4-8 September 2012
Post-9/11 Cultures of Terror in South-East Asian Literature and Film

The shockwave of 9/11 has generated a wealth of critical literature as well as its own literary canon with the emergence of the subgenre of terror fiction – Liter(r)ature – as writers
recreated or reconstructed the terrorist attacks directly or obliquely in their fiction. However, the first edition of our conference held at the University of Turin, established that
Terror is asymmetrical and complex, not monolithic as the GWOT implies with its Manichean binaries. The United States does not have a monopoly of Terror and the US and Euro-centric
debates about 9/11 which predominantly focus on security and international relations issues tend to overlook the abuses of State Terror in connection with the legacies of colonialism,
decolonization and the Cold War.

The second edition of Cultures of Terror to be held within ESSE 2012 at the Bogazici University of Istanbul from 4th to 8th September 2012 seeks to explore the fictional representation of State oppression and brutalization of the most vulnerable, whether in the name of national security or as a result of collateral damage to domestic or foreign military
operations. We welcome papers that think through and beyond the predominant rhetorics and narratives of Terror and which address violent forms of postcolonial sovereignty, or ethnically-motivated, religion-based or caste-related violence in modern South Asia.

We invite 15-minute long contributions focusing on film and fiction that responds to the conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan's tribal areas, Kashmir, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

We are also convening a round table on the same issues and invite/welcome guest speakers to participate in a wide-ranging debate.

Procedure for submitting paper proposals:
Colleagues wishing to participate in the Seminar or round table are invited to submit a 250-300-word abstract and a brief bio to the three convenors before 11th February 2012. We will
notify the participants of acceptance of their proposals by 29th February 2012.

Dr Stephen Morton, University of Southampton: S.C.Morton@soton.ac.uk
Dr Veronica Thompson, Athabasca University: thompson@athabascau.ca
Dr Pascal Zinck, University of Lille: cap.zinck@wanadoo.fr

All the information concerning the ESSE-11 Conference in Istanbul can be found on the
Conference website http://www.esse2012.org