Creatures and Creations
Call for Papers, Chimères 2017 Conference
University of Kansas, april 28 - 29, 2017
The Department of French and Italian of the University of Kansas invites graduate students and researchers to submit proposals for its spring conference to be held April 28-29, 2017 in conjunction with Chimères, a peer-reviewed Journal of French & Francophone Literatures and Cultures. Chimères is listed by the MLA Bibliography and is now in its fiftieth year, which is published in both traditional and online formats. Selected papers will be considered for publication in the fall 2017 edition of the journal. The 2016 issue (volume 33) has just been published and is fully consultable: https://journals.ku.edu/index.php/chimeres/issue/view/607
Our spring conference will explore notions of creatures and creations in terms of literary, cultural, cinematic, and historical identities and expressions as found in French and Francophone works.
Our keynote speaker will be distinguished medievalist Professor Bernard Ribémont of the Université d'Orléans.
Possible topics could include, but are not limited to:x
- Intersections between humanity/animality/technology
- Anthropomorphism and anthropological metamorphoses
- Evolutionary discourses
- The fantastical/allegorical/demonic/grotesque/chimeric
- Genesis
- Heterotopia
- Bestiaries and beasts
- Hybridities
- Inventions, revolutions, innovations
- Creative processes, applications, video games
- Aliens and zombies
- Monsters, the monstrous, and monstrosity
Papers are invited from any area of French and Francophone studies and may be in English or French. Prospective presenters may submit an abstract of no more than 250 words by February 27, 2017.
All queries or submissions should be sent to kuchimeres@gmail.com and pascott@ku.edu. Please attach a Word document to your message that includes your abstract, name, institution, email address, and a brief bio of 100 words or less.