Keynote Speakers: Wayne Martin (University of Essex) and Paul Davies (University of Sussex)

We are welcoming submissions for the 6th Annual University of Sussex Graduate Conference in Phenomenology. This year the conference theme is ‘The Work of Phenomenology and the Work of Art’. The title involves a deliberate ambiguity. We are interested both in papers on what works of art or phenomenology can do, and in the practice of both
phenomenological research and the creation of an artwork, as well as investigations into the connections between these topics.

We invite abstracts from those working in and around issues occurring at the intersection between phenomenology and the philosophy of art, or aesthetics. Abstracts providing a critical look at the philosophical resources brought to bear by phenomenology as a method for engaging with art are also very welcome. We also encourage abstracts from those working outside philosophy departments. The conference is conceived of as inter-disciplinary, reflecting the hypothesis that if it is productive for the phenomenologist to engage with the artwork, then might it not be just as productive for the artist or critic to engage with phenomenological research?

Priority will be given to current doctoral students, but we also welcome submissions from postdoctoral researchers, as well as MA students.

The conference provides graduate students an opportunity to present their work and receive extensive feedback from peers and specialists in the field. It is a two-day conference, organised by graduate students for graduate students. The conference will follow a single ‘stream’ in terms of structure, ensuring that every speaker has the opportunity to address all of the attendees. We aim to bring together postgraduates engaging in original research in phenomenology and art, and to promote further work in this field.

Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

Phenomenological engagements with works of art, literature and music
The extent to which artistic practice might constitute phenomenological work itself
The relationship between art and truth
The extent to which non-phenomenological engagements with art might constitute criticism of phenomenology as method
Phenomenology and politically or religiously oriented art
Phenomenology, hermeneutics and art criticism

Submissions:

Submissions should be ready for blind review and should consist of two separate documents containing the following:

The title and the abstract (maximum 500 words) of your presentation. The abstract should state and explain the topic of the presentation and the way in which it contributes and relates to the themes of the conference. This document should not include your name or institutional affiliation. A separate cover letter that includes: the title of your presentation; your name; institutional affiliation; current academic status; and contact information. Submissions should be sent to r.dunphy@sussex.ac.uk no later than the 30 March 2015.

Useful information:

The conference will be held at the University of Sussex, Brighton, UK.

Notifications of acceptance will be sent by the 3 April, 2015.

Accepted speakers will be allocated 40 minutes in total: 20 minutes in which to deliver their paper and 20 minutes for Q&A.

The conference fee is ÂŁ30 for each accepted speaker. This event is open to and free for the public.

The editors seek contributions from scholars and practitioners to a volume that will  form the first comprehensive book on phenomenology and performance.  Contributed work should aim to fit into one of three broad categories:

1. General concerns (histories, genealogies, principles, etc.) regarding phenomenology and performance;
2. Phenomenological approaches to and analyses of major categories in the study of performance (embodiment, place, time, language/text, object, audience);
3. Examples, critiques, and analyses of applied phenomenology (creative work which the practitioners considered to be ‘enacted, embodied phenomenology’, or work on and in the field of performative phenomenological writing).

While the above categories reflect the interests and structure of the book, work that combines or cuts across these would of course also be welcome. Specifically, some of the key questions that contributions might address include:

• How might the history and development of the relationship between phenomenology and performance be productively charted and analysed?
• How do we account for the recent resurgence in phenomenological approaches to theatre and performance? How might we most productively consider the relationship between this resurgence – and phenomenology in general – with the theoretical and philosophical paradigms that dominated the latter part of the 20th century?
• What constitutes a phenomenological approach to the study of performance?
• Is ‘approach’ a fitting term, or is it more apt to speak of phenomenological method(s)? If so, what defines such method(s), and how
malleable might these methods be?
• In what ways is the term phenomenology being deployed currently, and what case might be made for greater rigour and definition in the use of the term?
• How might phenomenology account for what we might term the fundamental ‘things’ of performance (body, space, time, language, object, audience)? Does phenomenology offer a justification for considering performance in terms of ‘fundamental things’ (a consideration which might readily be branded as essentialism)?
• What impact has phenomenology had on performance practitioners?
• Can performance itself be explicitly ‘phenomenological’? If so, what hallmark traits does a phenomenological performance bear? And are there tools or methods for effectively creating phenomenological performance?
• How might phenomenology bridge what has long been perceived as a gap between performance and its (written) reception/critique/analysis? Does phenomenological writing bring us ‘closer’ to the performance(s) that for its subject?

Please submit abstracts of 500 words along with a cv to both editors – Dr. Stuart Grant (stuart.grant@monash.edu) and Dr. Matt Wagner (m.wagner@surrey.ac.uk) – by 31 March 2014. If accepted, full contributions will be expected by 31 October 2014; conventional essays should be between 6000-8000 words, and the length and format of contributions from practitioners will be determined in negotiation with the editors at the point of accepting the abstract.
Visit Phenomenology of Performance at:

Stuart Grant
Director Performance Research Unit
Coordinator Graduate Research Program in Theatre Performance and Music
Centre for Theatre and Performance
Room 216, Building 68 (PAC)
Monash University Clayton VIC 3800 Australia
Ph: +613 9905 2133 M: +614 0312 0740 F: +613 9904 4209