cfp

The Centre for the Study of Theory and Criticism at the University of Western Ontario plans a major international conference on THE HISTORIES OF THEORY, to be held from April 16th-19th, 1998. This is the third international conference hosted by the Centre. Speakers at previous Centre conferences have included Mieke Bal, Linda Hutcheon, Bill Readings, Alexander Gelley, Dominick La Capra, Christopher Norris, Michael Fried, Martin Jay, Vincent Leitch, Bruce Robbins. Proceedings of both previous conferences ("Theory Between the Disciplines" and "The Human Sciences in the Age of Theory") have now appeared in book form.

We are seeking papers from a variety of (inter)disciplinary perspectives, on any aspect of the conference topic, including the following:

the histories and genealogies of particular theoretical schools: trajectories, hybridities, crossings
the rhetoric of particular theoretical discourses and the "history" (material or psychic) underlying that rhetoric
connections between contemporary theory and earlier philosophy/social theory
the histories of theory within a particular discipline
the genealogy of particular theorists' careers: hybridities, crossings, missed encounters
the genealogies of "theory" itself; the history of its constitution as an (inter)discipline; versions of interdisiplinarity in earlier periods; ways in which histories of theory have been narrativized; the possibly gendered basis of these (his)tories etc.
rewriting the history of theory: forgotten pasts, neglected histories, and missed encounters
the tyranny of history; theory in the age of historicism
modernity and postmodernity
poststructuralism after the "academic postmodern"
the end(s) of theory and theory at the fin de siecle

Please send papers or detailed abstracts (750 words) by Oct. 1st, 1997 to:

"The Histories of Theory"
Centre for the Study of Theory & Criticism
Labatt Visual Arts Centre, 200F
The University of Western Ontario
London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5B7

Tel: (519) 661 3442 Fax: (519) 661 2020
Theory@uwo.ca