The University of Arizona

New Directions Conference 2009

 

New Directions in Critical Theory

April 9-11, 2009

The University of Arizona

Tucson, Arizona

 

University as Community, University in Community: Theorizing Identity, Interdisciplinarity, and Praxis

 

New Directions in Critical Theory is an annual interdisciplinary graduate student conference held at the University of Arizona. The 2009 conference will center on the concept of community as it is evoked, romanticized, theorized, or even criticized across academic disciplines. Often, the term "community" is presented without definition or complication. We seek scholarship and creative work that explores the concept of community as it is used to inform our writing, research, teaching, and construction of academic departments and disciplines. Given the growing importance of relationships between universities and their surrounding cultural communities, we are also interested in work that challenges the ways in which universities function as communities, as anti-communities, and within their outside communities.

 

We invite graduate students from all disciplines to propose theoretically-oriented scholarship and creative work that may take an interdisciplinary approach to this concept of community. A list of possible inquires include, but are not limited to:

 

Cultural Studies

Literacy Studies & Civic Action

Creative Writing Workshops and Programs as Community

Community as Gendered, Racialized, and Sexualized Space

Genre Theory/Studies

Intersections between Pedagogy and Community

Architecture & Community Design/Planning/Space

Studies in Counter- or Anti-communities

Site Research into Community: Sociology, Anthropology, Archeology

Community Art and Artistic Collectives

(Ab)uses of Community within Disciplines and Departments

Community Within the University (Disciplines, Financing, Power Relations, etc.)

The University in Relation to its Surrounding Community

 

 

Submit 100-250 word individual abstracts or submit panel proposals consisting of a 100-250 word abstract describing the entire panel and one 100-200 word abstract for each paper. Please include names, email addresses, mailing addresses, institutional affiliations, technology requests, paper titles, and abstracts by February 1, 2009 to New Directions Co-Chairs at ndconf@gmail.com.

 

Conference Co-Chairs:

 

Jennifer Haley, Todd Jansen, Ben Ristow, Amanda Wray