Call for
Papers:
Aids in Cultre VI:
Explorations in the
Cultural History of AIDS
International
Conference
México City, 9
- 14 December 2009
Conference
Languages: English, Castilian, German, French and Nahuatl
Aids in Culture VI: Explorations in the Cultural History of AIDS
México City, 9 - 14 December 2009
Deadline for abstract Submissions: 15. October (Deadline has been extended)
Conference Homepage: http://www.aidsinculture.org
AIDS is not simply an illness or a biomedical phenomenon. The conference
cycle "AIDS in Culture" organised by Enkidu Magazine in
Mexico City and the International Society for Cultural History and Cultural Studies
(CHiCS) in cooperation with CNDH (The National Human Rights Commission
in Mexico) seeks to examine cultural responses to AIDS in different
cultures and societies across a wide range of perspectives.
The conference will explore the processes by which AIDS is constructed
as a cultural phenomenon and how different societies in their encounters
with AIDS attempt to create meaning in health, illness and disease. The
conference aims at bringing together academics working in all relevant
disciplines as well as activists, artists and other professionals, and
promoting innovative multidisciplinary and multicultural exchange and
dialogue.
Also in 2009 the conference will follow a similar model as in previous
years with a large number of thematic sessions addressing several
different issues. Papers are welcomed on virtually all related topics
and
themes related to the cultural and social construction of Aids,
independently of time period and space. Also papers of comparative
phenomena will be considered. Interdisciplinary perspectives are
encouraged.
Among the themes of interest are the following:
- AIDS and Cultural Texts: Power and Representation.
- Representations of AIDS in art, movies, music, poetry, religion and
literature from the 1980s until today.
- Silences and taboos in discourses on HIV/AIDS.
- Aesthetic responses to the challenge. Rituals, customs, and
fetishism.
- Cultural practices that influence the spread of HIV/AIDS
- AIDS and collective and individual identities: Race, Class, Gender
etc
- AIDS and Politics, Lobbying and Activism: Power, Representation and
Activism.
- Constructions and reconstructions of AIDS in political, faith and
ideology based discourse, legal issues and policy making throughout
the
world: Who has the authority to speak and who is silenced?
- AIDS and theory: Cultural Studies, Queer Studies, Religious Studies,
History, Anthropology, Sociology, Literary Studies and all related
disciplines. How do we theorize and analyse experiences and the
meaning of illness?
- The ,significance' of AIDS for individuals and communities; the
cultural
factors influencing our perceptions of health and illness experiences.
- AIDS and psychosocial affects and effects. Cultures of silence.
- Indigenous knowledge and responses to AIDS
- Stories and Histories about AIDS
- AIDS and Oral History
Papers will be considered on related themes and topics from a wide
range of perspectives. Interdisciplinary perspectives are especially welcome
since all these topics in themselves stretch across several
disciplines: history, literary studies, linguistics, psychology, political
sciences, pedagogy, ethnology, anthropology, sociology...
Graduate and postgraduate students are encouraged to attend and
present papers. Selected papers from the conference will also this year be
published in book form.
* PAPER AND PANEL PROPOSALS
500 word abstracts should be submitted to the organising committee in
English, Castilian, German or French by 15, October 2009. The
conference languages will be English and Castilian. Interpretations of the
conference theme ranging from the predictable to the surprising are encouraged.
Papers should be of approximately 20 - 30 minutes duration (circa 8 -
10
pages). Other forms of presentation, for instance workshops, panel
debates and poster sessions will be considered on request.
* PROPOSALS FOR PANEL SESSIONS
Typically, a panel of academic papers should include 3 (maximum 4)
speakers and 1 moderator (session chair). Each session will last for 2
hours allowing for 30 minutes for each speaker and a further 30
minutes
for questions and discussion.
Proposers should submit:
(1) Session title and a session intro (ca 100 words),
(2) Paper titles,
(3) Abstracts for each paper (500 words),
(4) Short biography for each participant and the panel chair (ca
100-150
words),
(5) Institutional affiliation and address for each participant,
(6) Audio-visual and other technical requirements.
If you would like to propose a panel session, and want assistance in
finding speakers and/or a session chair, we can publish a call for
papers
for your panel session on the conference web site and distribute it in
our
newsletter. If you have an idea for a thematic panel session and would
like us to publish a call for papers on the conference website, please
send us a proposal by e-mail to info@aidsinculture.org
* PROPOSALS FOR INDIVIDUAL PAPERS
Abstracts are to be submitted by 1. October, along with the
presenter's
name, address, telephone, email, and institutional affiliation. It is
recommended to use the form here:
http://www.enkidumagazine.com/eventos/aidsinculture/registration_en.htm
when submitting an abstract. However, abstracts will also be accepted
as
e-mail attachments to info@aidsinculture.org
All correspondence for this conference will be conducted via email.
Full conference papers should be submitted by the 1st of November
2009.
Abstracts and summaries of the conference papers will be made
available at the conference web page.
We acknowledge receipt and answer to all paper proposals submitted
within few days. If you do not receive a reply from us in a week you should
assume we did not receive your proposal; it might be lost in
cyberspace!
We suggest, then, to resend your abstract and resubmit your
registration
form, and if possible, suggest an alternative e-mail address. In
particular delegates using hotmail or yahoo accounts to receive
conference. Related e-mails often experience problems receiving conference
information by e-mail.
E-mails from the conference organisers are often delivered to your
spam
folder and not to your inbox, unless you remember to add the following
e-mail addresses: and liowlb@enkidumagazine.com
* EXHIBITORS, PUBLISHERS AND ARTISTS:
Artists are welcome to suggest exhibitions and displays of art during
the
conference.
Organisations, universities and publishers are welcome to sign up for
information stands at the conference center.
The following information is required by artists, publishers and other
exhibitors during the conference:
1) Technical Description of the information stand or artwork with
indications of technical requirements for their presentation, the size
and
extension of the individual artworks to be presented.
2) Estimated Insurance value of the artworks
3) One image of a representative sample of artistic work from the
exhibitions can be sent by e-mail to the conference organizers in the
format tiff or jpg.
4) Curriculum Vitae of artist (or organisation).
5) Description of Exhibition (300 - 500 words).
6) Short bio of artist (or organisation).
* REGISTRATION FEE for "Aids in Culture":
Payment received via PayPal or bank transfer in advance (Payments
completed before 1.November, 2009):
- Waged delegates (speakers): 150 USD/1700 MXP
- Students and unwaged delegates (speakers): 80 USD/900 MXP
Payment in cash, payment on location, and payments received after 15.
October 2009:
- Waged delegates (speakers): 175 USD/1800 MXP
Enkidu and the participating organisations will not be able to provide
travel support for conference delegates. It is therefore strongly recommended to apply for a scholarship or a grant from other sources
