Reviewing our place in a new geological epoch
ASLE-UKI 2016 Postgraduate Conference — Call for Proposals,
August 31 – September 2, 2016, University of Lincoln, UK
Deadline: March 31st, 2016
‘A change of (s)cene: reviewing our place in a new geological epoch’.
In 2016, the International Commission on Stratigraphy is due to consider formalising the Anthropocene as a new geological epoch. In light of this, the conference aims to review and reflect on what literature and culture might have to say about our place in a world shaped by human activity. With a keen interest in ecological systems, anthropogenic processes and the interaction between humans and nonhumans, ecocritics and the environmental humanities have already begun to open up discussion about the origins and implications of the Anthropocene; ultimately questioning what this might mean for humanity and our planetary home.
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The conference will facilitate an interdisciplinary dialogue between different approaches to the study of climate change, environmental distress and various eco-catastrophes.We are looking for papers, and panels, from postgraduate students and early-career researchers which unearth any aspect of the collusion between the Anthropocene, environmental criticism and the humanities. We are especially interested in papers that; consider how, if at all, this new geological age might recast our readings of literary, historical and cultural narratives; explore how writers and artists, past and present, might be engaged with human produced environmental degradation; and contributions which imagine the future of human and nonhuman relationships.
We also welcome proposals for presentations and readings from creative writers, artists and activists.
- Possible topics might include, but are certainly not limited to:
- Planetary history and deep time; human and natural temporalities
- Major or minor, global or local climatic events
- Postcolonial ecocriticism
- Disaster, extinction, end of nature, apocalypse
- Waste, pollution and sustainability
- Industrial developments, new technology, energy challenges
- Nature/culture, human/nonhuman boundaries
- Narratives of change, imagined futures
- Affects and aesthetics
- Romantic nature, Gothic nature, EcoGothic
- Ecopsychology: internal and external crisis
- Environmental philosophy, environmental and animal ethics, environmental law (e.g. 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris)
Submissions
Individual papers will be 20 minutes long. Please send a 300 word abstract and a 50 word biography to Michelle Poland, Rebecca Ford and Alex Bevan – changeofscene2016@gmail.com – by 31st March 2016. Proposals for panels are also welcome: please send a 200 word summary of the rationale for the panel, in addition to individual abstracts. Any further enquires can sent to the above email address.
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