CFP: "Shaw in Theory": International Shaw Society Panel at MLA 2015

[Lawrence Switzky]

"Shaw in Theory": MLA 2015, Vancouver, BC (January 8-11)

DEADLINE: March 15, 2014

This panel seeks papers that consider Shaw in relationship to theory, broadly construed. Papers are invited on Shaw’s significance as a theorist­--of drama, of politics, of gender, of language--as well as on how Shaw has been used, misused, quoted or misquoted, or otherwise adapted by subsequent dramatic, political, literary, and gender theorists. Papers are also invited that propose new readings of Shaw’s plays and prose through theoretical lenses, e.g. affect theory, trauma theory, media theory, performance theory, among others.

Papers might consider if there is such a thing as a “Shavian” reading of a text: did Shaw establish an analytical method or a sensibility that has been useful to others? (For example, have Shaw’s views on cutting plays, on writing plays, and on publishing plays informed debates about theatrical production and playwriting? Have Shaw’s representations of female agency enriched feminist discourse?)  

Alternatively, papers might evaluate Shaw’s legacy through his contributions to other thinkers, movements, and disciplines. Developmental psychologist Erik Erikson, for instance, took Shaw’s account of his upbringing as a founding example of adolescent self-fashioning. Philosopher and literary critic Stanley Cavell positions Shaw as an advocate of “moral perfectionism” alongside figures like Emerson and Nietzsche. Literary and social critic Frederic Jameson has argued that Shaw was a founder of politically serious science fiction. Scholar and journalist Germaine Greer has interpreted Shaw as a sophistical pseudo-feminist. How have theorists from a variety of fields appropriated Shaw, and how have their readings either opened up new possibilities for understanding Shaw or (tactically) misconstrued his ideas?

Finally, papers might propose how recent theoretical trends can contribute to the study of Shaw.

Please send questions and abstracts of around 250 words to lawrence.switzky at utoronto.ca.

See www.shawsociety.org/Shaw-at-MLA-2015.htm for details and developments.