This may be of interest to some.
Phil
----- Original Message -----
From: Bakhtin Centre, University of Sheffield
<Bakhtin.Centre@sheffield.ac.uk>
To: Multiple recipients of list BAKHTIN-NEWS <bakhtin-news@sheffield.ac.uk>
Sent: Wednesday, October 16, 2002 5:04 PM
Subject: Bakhtin Centre: Future Theory Research Seminars
Since its establishment in October 1994, the Bakhtin Centre has
held a regular { HYPERLINK "http://www.shef.ac.uk/uni/academic/A-
C/bakh/theosem.html" }Theory Research Seminar. To date there
has been a total of 55 papers: 16 by speakers from Sheffield, 18 by
speakers from elsewhere in the UK, and 21 by speakers from
overseas. Most papers have addressed the work of Bakhtin or the
Bakhtin Circle, and it is expected that the Seminar will continue to
provide an important forum in which scholars can disseminate the
results of their research on what remains a core concern for the
Bakhtin Centre. However, in accordance with the Centre's declared
aim to promote multi- and inter- disciplinary research on related
areas of cultural, critical, linguistic and literary theory, it has been
decided that in future most seminars should address a broader
range of issues, with reference to themes specified in advance.
Themed series of seminars will where appropriate prepare the way
for major conferences. There may also be opportunities for
publication of individual papers, or clusters of papers, in the Bakhtin
Centre's journal {HYPERLINK
"http://www.shef.ac.uk/uni/academic/A-
C/bakh/dialog.html" }Dialogism.
The broad theme for the period 2002-2005 will be 'The History
of the Human Sciences'. Emphasis will be placed firmly on
attempts to understand and illuminate the current state of the
human sciences, their institutional configuration, status, and
prestige, with reference to their (often forgotten) history. Within
this broad theme, the following seminar series are planned to run
in parallel:
1. The Emergence of Literary and Cultural Studies
How did literary and cultural studies arise? What social and
political forces shaped these disciplines, and how did they
intersect with intellectual formations? What are the assumptions
that determine our current disciplinary boundaries, and how do
these assumptions shape our investigations of culture?
This series seeks to investigate all the above issues, focusing on
key figures and moments in the history of the disciplines of the
humanities, assessing how and why these disciplines arose, and
reflecting critically on contemporary approaches to culture in the
light of that history.
This series, with 2-3 papers per semester, will be coordinated
by { HYPERLINK "http://www.shef.ac.uk/uni/academic/A-
C/bakh/craig-brandist.html" }Craig Brandist and
HYPERLINK "http://www.shef.ac.uk/uni/academic/A-
C/bakh/david-shepherd.html" }David Shepherd.
2. Critical Theory and Technology
Within the human sciences, the emergence of newly constructed
disciplines has been accompanied by a demand for well-defined
objects of study. Although disciplinarity has led to deepening of
knowledge in specific areas, it has at the same time contributed to
the isolated development of discipline-specific objects. Cross-
disciplinarity may help us to confront narrow specialism and
regain a more global view of an object's different facets.
The aim of this seminar series is to facilitate a cross-disciplinary
approach to contemporary critical theory and/or its interrelationship
with technology and new media. Topics may include:
· the extent to which new technology, applied within the
humanities, addresses new objects, or simply offers new
perspectives on older problems;
· whether the objects of new technology are shared
between different disciplines;
· to what extent intersecting areas of interest in the human
sciences challenge existing boundaries between disciplines;
· the ways in which theory can lead to new practices and,
conversely, new practices inform theory.
Papers addressing theoretical, methodological, or practical
issues, and discussing the relationship between theory and
practice or the nature and goals of cross-disciplinarity, will be
especially welcome.
This series, with 2-3 papers per semester, will be coordinated
by { HYPERLINK "http://www.shef.ac.uk/uni/academic/A-
C/bakh/gardner.html" }Colin Gardner (Honorary Research
Fellow) and { HYPERLINK
"http://www.shef.ac.uk/uni/academic/A-C/bakh/zbinden.html"
}Karine Zbinden (Swiss National Foundation Research
Fellow). The series will run until 2004, when two related
conferences will take place: the first, to be held in Spring 2004 and
coordinated by { HYPERLINK
"http://www.shef.ac.uk/uni/academic/A-C/bakh/zbinden.html" }Karine
Zbinden, will be on the contribution made to the twentieth-century
humanities by { HYPERLINK
"http://www.shef.ac.uk/uni/academic/A-C/bakh/todorov.html"
}Tzvetan
Todorov; the second, in Autumn 2004 and coordinated by
HYPERLINK
"http://www.shef.ac.uk/uni/academic/A-C/bakh/gardner.html" }Colin
Gardner, will be on the topic of Critical Studies and Media
Technologies.
Potential speakers for both series are currently being
approached. Separate calls for papers for the 2004 conferences
will be issued in due course. However, researchers wishing to
propose papers for either seminar series, or for one of the
conferences, are invited to approach the appropriate
coordinators by e-mail.
The text of this announcement may be found on the Bakhtin
Centre's website at
http://www.shef.ac.uk/uni/academic/A-C/bakh/theosem.html
************************************************
Bakhtin Centre
Floor 8, Arts Tower
University of Sheffield
Sheffield S10 2TN, England
Tel.: +44 (0)114 222 7415
Tel.: +44 (0)114 222 7400
E-mail: Bakhtin.Centre@Sheffield.ac.uk
URL: http://www.shef.ac.uk/uni/academic/A-C/bakh/bakhtin.html
Director: Professor David Shepherd
Lecturer: Dr Craig Brandist
SNF Research Fellow: Dr Karine Zbinden
Honorary Research Fellows: Dr Colin Gardner, Mr Jonathan Hall
************************************************
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