UPDATE: Nuances of Lack in Italian Culture (grad) (2/1/07; 4/20/07-4/21/07)

full name / name of organization: 
Jennifer Newman
contact email: 

***Please note, there was an error in the original call for papers. All
dates should read 2007, not 2006. The corrected version is below.***

Nuances of Lack in Italian Culture

Call for Papers
New York University

April 20-21, 2007

"Deh peregrini che pensosi andate
forse di cosa che non v'è presente"
- Dante Alighieri, Vita Nuova 30:1-2

Lack, as a state of deprivation, can be perceived both consciously and
unconsciously. While a conscious perception of lack generates a desire
for fulfillment, an unconscious perception may generate a movement away
from the desired object in order to construct something on the site of
what lacks. Lack can be seen as a constructive force in human
experience, for despite its negative connotation, it creates tensions
which engender multiple drives for action, due to the diversity of human
beings, fields of experience, and forms of expression.

This conference proposes to explore the way in which lack is
demonstrated and addressed in all facets of Italian culture, as a
creative or destructive power. To what extent does it inspire or limit
individuals and society as a whole? What are the products of the tension
it creates?

We welcome papers from all disciplines considering these questions.
Possible paper topics include, but are not limited to:

-desire (as the result of lack)
-lack of the object of love (psychological, physical, or social)
-lack of freedom: issues of race, religion, gender, sexuality, politics,
etc.
-the (need of the) unfinished/incomplete/failed
-economic lack
-nostalgia (as the pain of lacking)
-lack of power
-lack in language: lacking and missing words and expressions, foreclosure
-lack and religion: absolute lack leading to religion, lack in the idea
of God, etc.
-lack of unity
-lack of identity
-death, mourning, and bereavement

The conference will take place on April 20th and 21st, 2007, at the NYU
Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò.

Presentations are allotted 20 minutes with additional time for question
and response. Please submit an anonymous abstract of no more than 250
words by February 1, 2007. Include a cover letter with the title,
author's name, university affiliation, telephone number, and e-mail
address. All abstracts must be in English or Italian. Interdisciplinary
approaches are encouraged. Submissions are only accepted from graduate
students.

Please send all abstracts to the conference organizers: Anna Bagorda and
Jennifer Newman at igsa.conference_at_nyu.edu

This conference is cosponsored by: the Italian Graduate Student
Association, the Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò, and the Dean's Office of
Graduate School of Arts and Science of of New York University.

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Received on Sat Dec 09 2006 - 17:46:02 EST