Permanence & Decay: 2nd Annual Graduate Student Conference UCLA European Languages and Transcultural Studies

UCLA European Languages and Transcultural Studies

2nd Annual Graduate Student Conference

Permanence & Decay - May 23-24, 2022

Submit 250-word abstracts to ucla.elts.conference@gmail.com by January 7th, 2022

Call for Papers

In celebration of the newly-formed UCLA Department of European Languages and Transcultural Studies (ELTS), the graduate students of the former Departments of French and Francophone Studies, Germanic Languages, Italian, and the Scandinavian Section invite submissions to the

2nd Annual ELTS Graduate Student Conference.

Tensions between permanence and decay are constitutive features of European culture. Periods during which cultural and political conventions appeared as though they would endure have alternated with periods of crisis and widespread instability. There can be many interpretations of permanence and decay: they can refer to the physical nature of artifacts or materials and their durability, but also to the cyclical nature of thought (as the ideological crises in present-day Europe have brought to the fore), as well as to the unstable nature of social, interpersonal, and political frameworks (as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic shows us).

We seek to ask questions such as: How has the permanence of geopolitical and cultural borders reconstructed our understanding of history and its relationship to national or cultural identity? How have ideas of stability or change in literary canons shaped our cultural landscapes over time? How has our understanding of environmental and sustainability issues developed over time? Which cycles of permanence and decay can we identify in our natural surroundings, as well as their relationship to social, economic, and political norms? How have changing (or unshakeable) beliefs on sexuality, gender, birth, death, memory, and truth influenced each other and shaped European culture, literature, and politics?

We seek abstracts for 20-minute presentations that will explore these themes through any theoretical and disciplinary approach connected to Francophone, Italian, Germanic, and Scandinavian cultures. We encourage a variety of disciplinary angles including recent and emerging disciplines such as environmental humanities, digital humanities, and medical humanities.

In an effort to accommodate our local and international colleagues’ travel and health restrictions, as well as to be mindful of our environmental impact, the conference will adopt a hybrid in-person + online format (details will follow). In your application, let us know if you have a strict preference for either format.

Applicants are invited to submit a 250-word abstract of their conference paper by January 7th, 2022 to ucla.elts.conference@gmail.com. Acceptance decisions will be made known by February 28th, 2022.