Call for Presentations: 1st Global Conference--Probing the Boundaries of Reproduction
Call for Presentations: 1st Global Conference--Probing
the Boundaries of
Reproduction
Origins, Bodies,
Transitions, Futures
Sunday 12th May – Tuesday 14th May 2013 Prague, Czech
Republic
This conference seeks to explore the boundaries of
reproduction, not
merely as physical birth but more broadly as an agent of
change, of
bodily, sexual, cultural (and even viral) transitions.
>From iconic images of the incarnation to depictions
of monstrous births, the cultural rituals and mythologies of reproduction
continue to fascinate us. Bodies that copulate, bodies that reproduce, bodies
that replicate, change, decay—or divide—produce anxiety about the
boundaries of self and identity. Reproduction, like evolution, reminds us that
we are ever in flux, that change is inevitable. Birth, like death, forces us to
acknowledge the limits of our bodies and our ‘selves.’ Additionally, this
age of epidemics and viral warfare incites dystopic visions of a future where
the effective reproducers are micro-organisms, where humans have been replaced
by a replicating other. We seek to explore not only the biological imperative
of preserving a species, but also our search for origins, our search for
ourselves, our desires, our sexual identities, our gods.
We invite perspectives that explore identity, bodies,
boundaries,
sexuality and futurity. We likewise invite reflections on
whether the
nature of our origins tells us anything about who and
what we are;
whether it lays the ground for understanding what we will
become and how
our future will unfold. What is the nature of our
transition from birth
through life to death? Is the end present in the
beginning, and does
this complicate our notions of evolutions and transitions
as forward
progress? What does it mean to be pregnant? To
impregnate? What concerns
are raised about a woman’s body historically,
culturally, politically,
her ability to feed, grow and harbour new life, as well
as her control
over her own reproductive destiny? What about bodies that
replicate
without sex? Cloning? Hermaphroditic reproduction? What
about non-human
reproduction, about invasive species, about viral epidemics?
We encourage scholarly contributions from inter, multi
and
transdisciplinary perspectives, from practitioners
working in all
contexts, professionals, ngo’s and those from the
voluntary sector. We
will entertain submissions drawn from literature,
medicine, politics,
social history, film, television, graphic novels and
manga, from science
to science fiction.
Topics may include but are not limited to:
Historical medical discourses about reproduction
The monstrosity of birth: monstrous births
Birth in the dystopic narrative
Freak(s) – of nature; of technology; accidents of birth
Religious discourse of reproduction
Gender and biomedicine
Queering reproduction
Motherhood/fatherhood/parenthood
Technologies of and for the body
Reproduction and ethical practice
Managing reproductive bodies: law, health care and
medical practice
The “changingâ€
body: rebirth and metamorphosis
Invading and possessing bodies
Eugenics, social biology and inter-racial generation
Genetic engineering and “nightmare†reproductions
Science fiction: inter-species reproduction: non-human
reproduction
Viral reproduction and pandemic
What to submit:
The Steering Group particularly welcomes the submission
of pre-formed
panel proposals. Presentations will also be considered on
any related
theme. 300 word abstracts should be submitted by Friday
4th January
2013. 300 word abstracts should be submitted
simultaneously to both
Organising Chairs; abstracts may be in Word, WordPerfect,
or RTF formats
with the following information and in this order:
a) author(s), b) affiliation, c) email address, d) title
of abstract, e)
body of abstract, f) up to 10 keywords.
E-mails should be entitled: BR1 Abstract Submission
Please use plain text (Times Roman 12) and abstain from
using footnotes
and any special formatting, characters or emphasis (such
as bold,
italics or underline). We acknowledge receipt and answer
to all paper
proposals submitted. 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 look for an alternative
electronic
route or resend.
Organising Chairs:
Brandy Schillace: bschillace@inter-disciplinary.net
Rob Fisher: br1@inter-disciplinary.net
The conference is part of the Probing the Boundaries
programme of
research projects. It aims to bring together people from
different areas
and interests to share ideas and explore various
discussions which are
innovative and exciting. All papers accepted for and
presented at the
conference will be eligible for publication in an ISBN
eBook. Selected
papers may be developed for publication in a themed hard
copy volume(s).
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