This conference, to be held at De Montfort University, looks especially interesting because it comes from Elizabeth Penner, one of the delegates from Marginalised Mainstream 2012, whose paper was on Boys’ Own Paper. Contact details for where to send your abstract are at the bottom of this post.
Legacy: Mythology and Authenticity in the Humanities, 28 June 2013
This conference focuses on the influence of cultural ‘legacies’ within current humanities research. By highlighting the work of postgraduates and early career researchers, this interdisciplinary conference will examine the various ways in which ‘legacies’ are created, restructured, perpetuated and even rejected. It will also question whether newer disciplines respond to cultural mythologies by establishing their own ‘legacy’ as a means of achieving academic authentication.
The recent confirmed identity of Richard the III, Faber’s choice of cover illustration for its anniversary issue of Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar, and the recent film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit are just a few of the numerous examples that demonstrate how cultural legacies evolve within academic research and the public forum.
These inherited cultural legacies are continually being redefined, rebranded and reevaluated, creating a cyclical pattern that challenges the ways in which we approach and define them. This brings into question the social and political significance of ‘legacy’ and its relevance within the humanities, both as a research theme and as a lens by which to view the progression of our respective disciplines.
The conference will conclude with a roundtable discussion with Professor Dominic Shellard the Vice-Chancellor of De Montfort University, Dr Will Buckingham of the School of Humanities at De Montfort University, and Mr Sam Causer of the Leicester School of Architecture.
We invite 20–minute papers from early career academics, post-doctoral researchers and doctoral students which might address, though not limited to, the following areas:
- Folkloric ‘legends’ and the academic ‘legacy’
- The creation of oral and written legends
- National identity and institutional ‘legacies’
- The development of individual, theoretical, and collective ‘legacies’
- ‘Legacy’ and institutional validation
- Obedience and Iconoclasm towards ‘legacy’ in contemporary humanities studies
- ‘Legacy’ and the curated archive
Please email abstracts, of not more than 200 words, along with a short biographical statement to Anna Blackwell and Elizabeth Penner by 30 April 2013.
Email: dmulegacyconference@gmail.com
Official Website: dmulegacyconference.wordpress.com
Conference Fee: £15 including lunch and refreshments
The Marginalised Mainstream 