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The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 19.0153  Monday, 10 March 2008

From:		Irene R. Makaryk <vdgrad@uottawa.ca>
Date:		Friday, 7 Mar 2008 15:12:15 -0500
Subject:	CFP: Wartime Shakespeare in a Global Context

CALL FOR PAPERS
Wartime Shakespeare in a Global Context/
Shakespeare au temps de la guerre

University of Ottawa
September 19-21, 2009

Fought on every continent except Antarctica, the Second World War offers 
a unique, temporally limited but geographically inclusive period in 
which to analyse and probe the role and significance of the theatre in 
times of extreme social duress. As the most frequently performed and 
translated playwright in the world, Shakespeare is arguably one of the 
most useful touchstones for examining a range of issues and questions 
brought to the fore during wartime which this international conference 
-- coinciding with the 70th anniversary of the declaration of war --- 
aims to address:

What can the classics and, more broadly, theatre offer people suffering 
under the horrific conditions of war?

How does culture (both as an anthropological and as an aesthetic 
concept) change in wartime?

Are some aesthetic genres and modes more conducive than others in such a 
period?

How effective is the imposition from "above" of aesthetic criteria or of 
particular works?

How do ordinarily benign artistic productions suddenly become usable, 
even necessary, as political propaganda?

How are claims about the universality of authors revised or revisited in 
wartime when special pressures and demands are placed on literary and 
dramatic work?

How are issues of character and poetic language dealt with in 
circumstances which require collective, not individualistic, thought?

What kind of relationship develops between "world classics" and 
indigenous canons of theatre and literature in wartime?

How do issues of gender, class, or political formation play into these 
debates? Post-colonialism? Translation? Adaptation?

How do terms like "high" and "low" art function in wartime?

In periods of post-war reconstruction?

Where does the issue of globalization fit?

Do answers to any of these questions about the Second World War still 
hold true today?

To date, the role of the theatre during the Second World War has neither 
been carefully documented nor subjected to a thorough analysis, despite 
the fact that from the very beginning of the war live theatrical 
performance was identified as contributing in a central way to the war 
effort. Shakespeare's stock was low in 1939; yet, by war's end, 
Shakespeare became a dominant cultural force that both ignited an 
explosion--still unabated--of scholarship, professional organizations, 
Shakespeare festivals, and popular cultural uses, and that marked a 
major shift in cultural practices.

Suggested topics/sessions:

1. Shakespeare, canon, and the Second World War
	* psychological warfare
	* Shakespeare, high and low literature and theatre
	* representation, gender, power, and war
	* Shakespeare's characters
	* Shakespeare and value
	* Shakespeare and translation/ adaptation (canons of translated drama, 
adaptation as reinterpretation)
	* comedy, satire, and war
	* Shakespeare in theatre and other media (radio, film, music, ballet, 
opera)

2.Shakespeare and "national" repertoires during the Second World War
	* Theatre, national identity, cultural heritage
	* the national and the "foreign"
	* Shakespeare and colonialism/post-colonialism
	*  theatre and collectivity/collectivities
	* canons of wartime theatre
	* "our" and "their" uses of theatre: Allied versus Axis use of theatre
	* neutral countries and their use of Shakespeare
	* regional vs "national" theatre
	* Shakespeare and popular culture

3. Shakespeare, Canada, and the world during the Second World War
	* theatre on the home front
	* theatre in Quebec
	* theatre and education
	* theatre and women
	* alternative theatres
	* theatre and children
	* Shakespeare and reading groups
	* Theatre and persecuted or interned groups

4. Shakespeare at the front and in captivity during the Second World War
	* theatre at the front
	* theatre and the military
	* shipboard theatre
	* touring companies
	* theatre in the camps (internment, labour, prisoner of war, and 
displaced persons')
	* theatre in occupied territories
	* theater and exile

5. Shakespeare at war today
	* the tasks of theatre
	* changing uses of theatre under new conditions
	* the view from above: ideology, propaganda, and theatre
	* theatre and political formation
	* theatre and collaboration
	* theatre and propaganda
	* national and other mythologies
	* shaping audience response
	* theatre as cultural mediation
	* theatre and suffering
	* theatre and affect
	* theatre, trauma, memory

The Organizing Committee invites papers from scholars of all relevant 
disciplines - such as Theatre, English, History, Language and Literature 
Programs, Cultural Studies, Communication, Sociology and Anthropology, 
Political Science, Gender and Women's Studies, Philosophy, Psychology - 
as well as from theatre practitioners, and especially encourages papers 
that focus on theatre and Shakespeare in the Second World War while 
approaching this topic in a comparative and interdisciplinary way.

A 250 word abstract of proposed papers, along with a brief curriculum 
vitae, must be submitted electronically (preferably in Word or Rich Text 
format) by 1 November 2008 either in English or in French to the 
Organizing Committee care of  Professor Irene (Irena) Makaryk at 
makaryk@uottawa.ca . Selected conference papers will be published in a 
special volume.

Pending a successful grant application, limited funding will be 
available for graduate students.

The Organizing Committee:
Irene (Irena) R. Makaryk, Chair of the Organizing Committee, Department 
of English Yana Meerzon, Departement de theatre/Department of Theatre
Tibor Egervari, Departement de theatre/Department of Theatre
Jeff Keshen, Departement d'histoire/Department of History
Annie Brisset, Ecole de traduction et d' interpretation/Department of 
Translation and Interpretation
Marissa McHugh, graduate student, Department of English

The University of Ottawa, Canada's oldest bilingual university, is 
located in the heart of the national Capital, within walking distance of 
historic Parliament Hill, the Rideau Canal (a World Heritage Site), the 
National Gallery of Art, and the busy Byward market, and within a few 
minutes' drive of the beautiful wooded hills of Gatineau, Quebec. 
Details about the city may be found at http://www.ottawa.com and about 
the university at www.uottawa.ca.

Irene (Irena) R. Makaryk, PhD
Vice-dean / Vice-doyenne
Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies/
Faculte des etudes superieures et postdoctorales
115 Seraphin-Marion
Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N5

_______________________________________________________________
S H A K S P E R: The Global Shakespeare Discussion List
Hardy M. Cook, editor@shaksper.net
The S H A K S P E R Web Site <http://www.shaksper.net>

DISCLAIMER: Although SHAKSPER is a moderated discussion list, the 
opinions expressed on it are the sole property of the poster, and the 
editor assumes no responsibility for them.

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