ASTR CFP

[Ric Knowles]

Hi all,

I'm recirculating the ASTR call for plenary papers and working sessions for the November 2009 conference, as the deadline approaches. I encourage folks to consider applying.

Cheers,

Ric


*Call for Proposals: Deadline Feb. 1st 2009* 

Annual Conference of the American Society for Theatre Research 
(www.astr.org) 
and the Theatre Library Association ( http://tla.library.unt.edu/ ) 

San Juan, Puerto Rico • 11-15 November 2000 - Condado Plaza Hotel and Casino 

*Theatre, Performance, and DestiNation* 

Theatre shares with travel a set of expectations related to discovery 
and encounter, a reprieve from the quotidian, and a longing for return. 
Theatre and performance studies scholarship offers similar vistas. As 
both journey and destination, theatre and related performance forms – as 
well as scholarship about them -- encompass a range of experiences from 
pilgrimage to voyeuristic consumption, producing effects that linger and 
can transform the once-familiar terrain of "home." 

The 2009 conference theme takes inspiration from our destination. Given 
its own contentious history in relation to questions of statehood and 
imperialism, and as part of a region inspiring multi-disciplinary 
approaches to the study of circum-Atlantic art, history, literatures and 
culture, Puerto Rico offers an imaginative point of departure for 
inquiries into theatre's historical and contemporary role in 
constituting cultural and (inter)national forms of belonging. 

How might we use the notion of "destination" – a seemingly fixed point 
of arrival, but one with performative effects beyond the event itself – 
to re-examine the histories and practices of theatre and performance and 
its scholarship? 

*/Proposals might consider the following questions: /* 

- How have populations in different historical moments and cultural 
milieux related to theatre as destination? 

- What happens when theatre itself "travels" (as when it tours, or when 
it is appropriated by or adapted into a cultural destination different 
from the one originally intended) becoming, in effect, a movable 
destination? 

- How does research travel become performative, in encounters with 
archives, fellow scholars and investigators, as well as with performers 
and practitioners? 

- How has theatre and performance participated in building or 
destabilizing nations and nationalism? 

- In the context of Latin America and the Caribbean, 2009 marks the 
200^th anniversary of the first wars of colonial independence from 
Spain, leading to nationalist narratives of independence, nationhood, 
and revolution in many Latin American countries. How has theatre and 
performance, viewed from within one national tradition or comparatively 
across nations or regions, played a role in or against this triumphalist 
rhetoric? 

- How does performance in touristic sites mediate historical imaginaries 
of people, place, and nation? 

- What role have "islands" played in theatrical representation, and 
conversely, how has theatre been construed as such vis-a-vis "mainland" 
forms of cultural expression? 

- How might "island culture" be a trope for larger movements of peoples 
and ideas between sites of privileged viewing and local experience? That 
is, how might "island culture" and performance prompt reexaminations of 
center/periphery logistics in an era of transnational global flows? 

Members are encouraged to explore the wide variety of embodied, 
expressive cultural forms (theatre, dance, fiesta, performance art, 
international festivals, religious or civil observances) that have made 
certain sites a destination for audiences as well as for scholars of 
theatre history and performance studies. 

*Participation Guidelines* 

*Plenary Papers *Proposals for plenary papers take the form of an 
abstract (max. 250 words) that includes name, affiliation, mailing and 
email addresses. Full-length papers will not be accepted. Proposals will 
be selected by the program committee with an eye towards topics that 
advance conversations in and about the fields of theatre and performance 
studies.** 

*Working Sessions *We invite proposals for working sessions: this 
category includes seminars, research groups, reading groups, forums, 
workshops, as well as formats that have yet to be imagined. "Working 
sessions" is a general category that allows session leader(s) to convene 
small groups around a proposed area of inquiry or practice, and to 
structure a method and format that best suits the goals of the group. No 
formats will be privileged over others; all proposals will be given 
equal consideration according to their merit.** 

Proposals include a rationale for the intellectual/scholarly merits of 
the session as well as a rationale for its format, and must be 
accompanied by the "ASTR Working Sessions Proposal Form," attached below. 

Proposals related to the conference theme are particularly welcome, but 
not necessary. 

For more information about working sessions see: 
http://www.astr.org/Conference/WorkingSessionsGuidelines/tabid/128/Default.aspx 

*All submissions must be received by 1 February 2009 *and should be sent 
as e-mail attachments, in MS Word, to: astr.2009 at gmail.com 
<mailto: astr.2009 at gmail.com >. 

*Inquiries *are welcome; please contact* *Sonja Kuftinec or Tamara 
Underiner at astr.2009 at gmail.com <mailto: astr.2009 at gmail.com > with 
program questions or Nancy Erickson ( NEricksn at aol.com ) with any 
questions about conference logistics. 

*PROGRAM COMMITTEE 2009* 

Sonja Arsham Kuftinec, University of Minnesota, Co-chair 

Tamara Underiner, Arizona State University, Co-chair 

Colleen Reilly, Yale University, TLA Chair 

Leo Cabranes-Grant, University of California, Santa Barbara 

Marla Carlson, University of Georgia, Committee on Conferences 
Representative 

Gay Cima, Georgetown University 

Jill Dolan, Princeton University 

Harry J. Elam, Stanford University 

Lowell Fiet, University of Puerto Rico-Rio Pedras Campus 

John Fletcher, Louisiana State University 

Judith Hamera, Texas A & M 

Ric Knowles, ASTR Vice President, /ex officio/ 

Daphne Lei, University of California, Irvine, Committee on Conferences 

Nicholas Ridout, Queen Mary, University of London, Committee on Conferences 

Isel Rodriguez Concepcion Arizona State University, GSC representative 

Evan Winet, University of Pittsburgh 

* * 

*ASTR 2009 WORKING SESSIONS PROPOSAL FORM* 

/ / 

/Please use this form for all proposals other than plenary proposals./ 

Session Title: 

Name(s), institutional affiliation (if any), and email address of 
Session Leader(s): 

Expected Number of Participants: 

Select the preferred session length[1] <#_ftn1>: ? Standard 2-hour slot 
? 3-hour session 

Is the group an ongoing ASTR group? (formerly known as a Research 
Group)[2] <#_ftn2> 

Yes No 

*Rationale* (please attach a 300-word description of your session, 
articulating its focus, scholarly importance, and relevance to the 
mandate of ASTR): 

*Format* (please attach a 200-word description of the format your 
session will take—e.g. seminar, working group, reading group, 
roundtable, workshop, etc[3] <#_ftn3>), articulating the relationship 
between the proposed format and the goals of the session, and, in the 
case of ongoing groups, the stage of the group's work. Please also 
articulate why you would prefer a 2-hour or 3-hour time slot). 

---------------------------------------------------------- 
--- 

[1] <#_ftnref1> 3-hour sessions cannot be guaranteed. 

[2] <#_ftnref2> It is assumed that ongoing groups will continue their 
work as appropriate; however, they are not guaranteed scheduling as part 
of the conference, and will compete for slots according to the merits of 
their proposals. 

[3] <#_ftnref3> This list is not intended to limit possible formats, and 
no formats will be privileged by the conference committee. All proposals 
will be given equal consideration according to their merit. 




Professor of Theatre Studies
University of Guelph
Guelph, Ontario, Canada
N1G 2W1

ph: 519-824-4120, x52931 (w)
FAX: 519-824-0560
email: rknowles at uoguelph.ca