Crisis

7th biennial conference of the European Network for Avant-Garde and Modernism Studies

University of Leuven, Belgium                                   

17-19 Sept. 2020

 

with Boris Groys, Christine Poggi and more

 

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

Notions of crisis have long charged the study of the European avant-garde and modernism. Throughout their history, avant-gardists and modernists have faced crises, be they economic or political, scientific or technological, aesthetic or philosophical, collective or individual, local or global, short or perennial. Modernists and avant-gardists have in turn continually stood accused of instigating crises, whether artistic or cultural, sensorial or conceptual, incidental or intentional, far-reaching or negligible, representational or other. The very concepts of ‘avant-garde’ and ‘modernism’ are time and again subject—or subjected—to conceptual crises, leaving modernism and avant-garde studies as a field on the perpetual brink of a self-effacing theoretical crisis.

The 7th biennial conference of the EAM intends to tackle the ways in which the avant-garde and modernism in Europe relate to crisi/es. Although we welcome panel, roundtable and paper proposals on any aspect of this relationship, we are particularly interested in new research on three topics.

First, we want to explore the theoretical complexity of the notion of crisis. For what is a crisis, really? The term is defined very loosely at times in modernism and avant-garde studies, and a quick survey illustrates that we seldom talk about crises of the same scale, import or impact. By clarifying what exactly counts as a crisis, surely we can gain a better understanding of the European avant-gardes and modernism. So what precisely do we mean by ‘crisis’? Is crisis above all a narrative device? Is there ever no crisis? Are there types of crisis, artistic or otherwise, that we have thus far neglected in our study of the avant-garde or modernism? And what (other) view(s) of crisis do avant-gardists and modernists themselves project?

Second, we are interested in proposals that touch upon the crises-laden historical trajectory of the avant-gardes and modernism. For while we often claim that a notion of crisis is key to a proper understanding of (late) modernity, the European avant-gardes and modernists faced different historical crises throughout their development. To what extent do all these crises, which span several centuries, share common denominators? What role do national and regional differences play over time? Does the project of the avant-garde and modernism, along with their critique of crisis, change fundamentally over time or not? Proposals touching upon a historical case study or submissions comparing several historical cases from different times or regions in Europe are therefore particularly welcome.

Third and finally, we wholeheartedly encourage proposals that look at the practical side of things, across all areas of avant-garde and modernist activity: art, literature, music, architecture, film, artistic and social movements, lifestyle, television, fashion, drama, performance, activism, curatorial practice, design and technology. How do European avant-gardists and modernists give aesthetic shape to crises? What representational strategies and tactics do they use in their practices? What affective (and other) experiences of crisis does their work allow for? What crises do their experimental practices yield—in fact, do the avant-gardes and modernism create types or modes of crisis of their own? 

 

The official languages of this conference are English, French and German. You may submit a proposal as a panel chair, as an individual or as a roundtable chair.

1. You may propose to be the chair of a panel. A panel consists of three or four speakers. One of the speakers is the chair who makes the submission and supplies the details and proposals of all of the proposed participants. You may also submit a double or triple panel. Panels should not consist only of doctoral students and panels composed of participants from a single department at a single institution are less likely to be accepted.

2. You may submit an individual proposal without specifying a panel and the organisers will assign your paper to a panel if accepted.

3. You may propose to be the chair of a roundtable. Roundtables consist of a maximum of 6 participants who each write brief “position papers” (4 pages) that are read and circulated before the conference. During the roundtable, participants briefly present position statements, after which a discussion takes place moderated by the chair. Roundtables can consist only of doctoral students yet roundtables composed of participants from a single department at a single institution are also less likely to be accepted.

 

Roundtable proposals (deadline 1 Jan. 2020) should include:

1. Title of the roundtable and language (English, French, German – one only)

2. A 500-word summary of the roundtable’s topic and rationale.

3. The chair’s name, a one-page curriculum vitae, and contact information (address and email).

4. Name, postal address and email contact of at least 5 (maximum 6) participants in the roundtable.

5. Short biography of individual participants

 

Panel proposals (deadline 1 Febr. 2020) should include:

1. Title of the panel and language of the panel (English, French, German – one only)

2. Name, address and email contact of the chair

3. A summary of the panel topic (300 words)

4. A summary of each individual contribution (300 words)

5. Name, postal address and email contact of individual contributors

6. Short biography of individual contributors

 

Individual proposals (deadline 1 Febr. 2020) should include:

1. Title of the paper and language of the paper (English, French, or German)

2. Name, address and email of contributor

3. A summary of the contribution (300 words)

4. Short biography of the contributor

 

Please submit your proposals in Word format only to eam2020@kuleuven.be. Acceptance will be notified via email by the end of May. A detailed conference programme will be available on the EAM website before summer. With any questions, please always make sure to check this page first, as it will be updated in due course.

 

ABOUT EAM

The European Network for Avant-Garde and Modernism Studies (EAM) devotes itself to the study of the avant-garde and modernism in Europe within a global setting, throughout the 19^th, 20^th and 21^st  centuries. EAM promotes interdisciplinary and intermedial research on experimental art forms and aesthetics, and aims to encourage an interest in the cultural dimensions and contexts of the avant-garde and modernism. The network aspires to embrace the wide variety within avant-garde and modernism studies, and welcomes all scholars engaged in these fields to participate in its biennial conferences.

 

ORGANISING COMMITTEE AND SPONSORS

This conference is organised by Sascha Bru and hosted by the MDRN research lab (www.mdrn.be) based at the Arts Faculty of the University of Leuven. The local organising committee further includes Mark Delaere (Musicology), Leen Engelen (Film Studies), Hilde Heynen (Architecture), Kate Kangaslahti (Art History, principal co-organiser), Bart Philipsen (Theatre & Performance Studies), Anne Reverseau (UC Louvain, Photography), and Inga Rossi-Schrimpf (curator Royal Museums of Fine Arts Brussels, RMFAB). The conference is sponsored by the Lieven Gevaert Centre for Photography (LGC) and the Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp (M HKA).