Fourth Annual Cultural Studies Graduate Student Conference and Workshop at the

April 20-21, 2012

Piecing Together Cultural Identity: Negotiation, Creation & Myth

Keynote Lecture to be delivered by:  Gabriele M. Schwab  (University of California, Irvine)

“What we do in dreams we also do when we are awake: we invent and fabricate the person with whom we associate – and immediately forget we have done so.” – Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good & Evil

We are seeking contributions that investigate the interdisciplinary implications of  identity formation in fields such as literature, anthropology, cultural studies, philosophy, art history, political science, and sociology. Negotiation of identity takes place in a network of vast and turbulent discourses. Political, sexual, ethnic and economical constructions interplay with the present idealization of individuality and choice. How one defines oneself is vital to how one interacts with the world, the choices that we make, the ideas that we support: what is identity or what does identity consist of? Is it a myth, a construction that we choose, or something thrust upon us? The emergence of the internet and other new communication technologies has complicated the networks of discourses in which the negotiation and creation of identity occurs. In a world destined for change, the question of identity seems vital as ever because where we are going is linked closely with how we see ourselves and others.

Possible session topics include but are not limited to:

·          Identity Formation via Self/Other Relationships

·          Imagined Identities: Are They Real or Just Played/Staged?
 

·          The Cult of Personality

·          The Reception of Other Cultures in Film and Other Media

·          Identity Across Cultural Boundaries and Subcultures

·          Gender & Performativity

·          Contexts of Cross-Cultural Understanding

·          The Technological Mediation of Identity

Conference Structure: This conference/workshop will be comprised of the keynote address and two sessions on Friday, followed by two additional two sessions on Saturday. Central to the conference is a graduate seminar style workshop on Saturday. This workshop is led by the keynote speaker and designed to explore the issues presented and discussed in more detail and depth. We strongly invite all participants to attend this final event.  Presenters are requested to arrange their travel so that they can participate in the entire event, including the workshop.  There will also be a closing reception Saturday evening, which is open to all participants and audience members.

Please send a 500 word abstract along with a brief biographical statement, in a separate document, to csconference.unm@gmail.com by March 1, 2012.  Selected participants will be notified by March 9, 2012.  You can also visit our webpage (coming soon) for additional information about the conference: http://www.unm.edu/~fll/grad-conference.htm (check for frequent updates).