Call for Papers: Aggression, Transgression, and the Avant-garde. Edinburgh, 6th June 2017.
In the political tumult of the twentieth century, an era which saw humanity face the worst excesses of war, revolution, fascism, capitalism, and communism, the arts have provided a constant critique of the social order, and not always politely. This one-day conference explores the historic role of the avant-garde as aggressor towards the status-quo, and the ways it has sought to subvert cultural norms through a diverse range of creative engagement and expression. This may not always have been for the better, nor may it always have been political, but it was frequently transgressive, and constantly fascinating.
The conference seeks cross-disciplinary responses which address the ways that the avant-garde (in its various manifestations) sought to transgress social and political boundaries, and what ends their attacks – at both an individual and collective level – hoped (but sometimes failed) to achieve.
The full call for papers can be accessed here.
Please send abstracts (250 words max.) for 20 minute papers, along with a short biography (c. 100 words), to avantgardeconference2017@gmail.com by 14th April 2017. Successful applicants will be notified the following week.
If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact the organisers, Naomi Stewart and Josh Bowker, at avantgardeconference2017@gmail.com
More information can also be found on the conference website: avantgardeconference2017.wordpress.com