Call for Papers PSi#23 “OverFlow”

CallforPapersPSi#23“OverFlow”
PerformanceStudiesinternationalAnnualConference
Hamburg2017
June8-11,2017inHamburg,Germany
Theconferencetheme“OverFlow”takesareverseviewonthepoliticaltropescustomaryin
“timesofcrisis”–“OverFlow”focusesonabundance,transgression,andleakageinsteadof
theusuallyevokedthemesoflack,restriction,andloss.Theeventtakesplaceinthecontext
oftheperformingartstriennialTheaterderWelt(“theateroftheworld”),which,in2017,is
dedicatedtoHamburgharborwithitshistoryofcosmopolitismandcolonialtrade,ofboom
and bust, of immigration and emigration. The sprawling harbor scenery (partly globalized
commercialandtouristhub,partlylocalpost-industrialdecay,partlycontestedsocialspace)
issettoprovidethebackdroptoagreatvarietyofsite-specificperformances.Italsohasa
historyofstormtidesandofbeingliterallyoverflowed.
Inrecentyears,theideaof“flow,”i.e.ofbeingfullyimmersedintheactivityathand,has
gained prominence in the theories of subjectivity and collectivity, but also in the self-help
industryasthepathwaytohappiness,wellnessandagoodlife.Moreover,notionsof“flow”
have influenced performance art (and the performing arts in general) with respect to
conceptsandpracticesofthemovingbody,artisticcollaboration(fromcooperativepractices
to the synchronization of processes), the use of time (simultaneity), creativity, etc. As a
conference theme, “OverFlow” breaks away from “flow’s” inherent promise and poses
questionsofoverload,escalation,interruption,hybridconnectivityaswellasdisconnection,
redundancy, boundaries and borders. The “over” in “OverFlow” can be the rupture of
spilloversandprofusion;italsorelatestoanallegedorrealovercrowdingofspaceandtime,
the rhetoric of expulsion or inclusion of desired or undesired bodies, techniques of
overpoweringordepletingthesenses,etc.Alloftheseandmanyadditionalaspectshavenot
only been the subject of intense political, ethical, and social scrutiny in recent years. They
havealsobeenexploredinperformanceartandperformancestudies.Theconferenceaims
at producing its own “OverFlow” by engendering modes of exchange, discussion,
interconnection,andcontrastsbetweenthesevariouspointsofview.
1
The organizers invite contributions by both scholars and artists that critically engage with
“flow”and/ordealwiththevariousfacetsof“OverFlow”inperformativepractices,aesthetic
phenomena,andperformanceart.Thisalsoincludesperformancestudiesperspectivesfrom
differentartisticandacademicfields(inthehumanitiesandsocialsciences)onthepolitical,
ethical,andsocialdimensionsofoverflow,spillage,andabundance,e.g.in:
• politics: “being rendered superfluous,” post-colonialism and cultural imperialism,
migration,bordersandbordercontrols,etc.
• society: abundance, expendability, and needlessness, cultural transformations and
appropriations,thediversityofgender,ethnicandreligiousaffiliations,etc.
• economics:critiqueofcapitalism,financialcrises,the“affluent”andthepost-growthdrivensociety,etc.
• media/technology: data streams, memory space, big data, computerization of
everydaylife,informationoverloadandredundancy,etc.
• ecology and the environment: waste, high tides and tsunamis (“harbor wave”),
factoryfarming,nutrition(obesity,alcoholism)etc.
Contributions may consist of individual papers, panels, roundtables, open spaces, lecture
performances, praxis sessions, workshops, performances, installations, etc. The organizers
would like to encourage formats that “overflow” a strict distinction between art and
academia or that reflect the status (and responsibility) of the arts in the so-called
“knowledge-based societies.” What kinds of knowledge, practices, and forms of critique
regarding social, ecological, political, ethical and cultural processes do the arts produce?
Whatkindsoffindingsorotherformsofawarenessdotheytrigger?Whatkindof“surplus”
or“disruption”canbefoundin“artisticknowledge”or,forthatmatter,“artisticresearch”?
Pleasesendyoursuggestionforapaper,panel,etc.(max.500characters,word,rtforpdfformat) by September 30, 2016 to the following email-address: [email protected].
Pleaseincludeyourname,contactinformation,affiliationandsuggestedformatatthetopof
yoursubmission(andalsoashortCVattheend).
OrganizingTeam:
AmelieDeuflhard,GabrieleKlein,MartinJoergSchaefer,ImanuelSchipper,WolfgangSting
for
PerformanceStudies,HamburgUniversity:www.performance.uni-hamburg.de
Kampnagel,InternationalCenterforFinerArts:www.kampnagel.de
PSi:www.psi-web.org
2

Download Report