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Call for Papers "Neither Strange Nor Familiar: Contemporary Approaches to Hybridity" Interdisciplinary Conference University of Toronto Toronto, ON (Canada) 22-23 October 2010 __________________________________________________ The study of identity, whether from a sociological, ethnographic, anthropological or historical perspective, has been a widely debated topic. As real or imagined social constructs, identities are continuously contested. Involved in a relentless process of becoming, they negotiate between an array of connections - local, regional, national, global, and they cross racial, ethnic and gender lines. Hence, identities must not be construed as rigid phenomena but rather as being continuously reconstructed, revisioned and reinterpreted in a variety of ways. They are fluid and dynamic, and can fuse or coexist in multiple forms. As they move through a cultural matrix of meanings, they can mediate between the familiar and the strange, between the local and the global, between assimilation and differentiation, to assume new or modify old forms. Contemporary approaches that explore this process of cultural production have revealed the multiplicity of identities and selves that can exist in a single space or context. Colonies and diasporas, borderlands and pluralistic societies - all offer insightful venues for the study of hybridity. In the contemporary era of migrations, cultural intermixture is quickly becoming an even more notable reality. But history abounds with examples of pluralistic societies where dual or partial identities flourished. Habsburg Empire, Transylvania or the Mexican-American borderlands, the Jewish or Iranian Diasporas in New York City, and the Canadian-Korean or American-African women can reveal much about the discourse of hybrid identities. The conference will provide an interdisciplinary venue where historians, anthropologists, ethicists of science and technology, political scientists, literary geographers, sociologists, and many others, can exchange their diverse understandings of and approaches to hybridity. The conference will stimulate epistemological and methodological discussions, while identifying the future directions in this evolving field. Consequently, we welcome proposals for papers from scholars working across a range of fields (including literature, history, politics, cultural studies, etc.). Established scholars and graduate students are encouraged to submit proposals for individual papers (250 words & one page CV), full panels/round table discussions (500 words & one-page CVs of all participants). Paper abstracts are due 31 July 2010 to: [email protected] Contact: Michael Newmark, PhD Student Department of History University of Toronto Sidney Smith Hall, Room 2098 100 St. George Street Toronto, ON M5S 3G3 Canada Fax: +1 905 6254275 Email: [email protected] Web: http://groups.chass.utoronto.ca/hybridity/ __________________________________________________ InterPhil List Administration: http://interphil.polylog.org Intercultural Philosophy Calendar: http://cal.polylog.org __________________________________________________
