Paper and Other Submissions Due: December 1, 2001 Proposals from Prospective Seminar Leaders Due: October 1, 2001 Conference Web Site: http://www.sla.purdue.edu/dblakesley/burke/call2002.html

The Fifth Triennial Conference of the Kenneth Burke Society will convene in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, May 23-26, 2002, on the theme "Perspective by Incongruity: The Comic Masks of Kenneth Burke." Hosted by Tulane University, the conference features diverse opportunities for engagement:

Conference Theme

Burke notes in Attitudes Toward History (1937) that people generally take either a tragic or a comic perspective on human motivation. The tragic view holds that people are vicious or evil, "describable by an enemy as vermin" (Rhetoric of Religion 276). The comic view, however, holds that people are mistaken, necessarily mistaken, that "all people are exposed to situations in which they must act as fools, that every insight contains its own special kind of blindness . . . " (41). In adopting the theme, "Perspective by Incongruity: The Comic Masks of Kenneth Burke," we want to encourage conference presenters and participants to revel in our mistakenness, to examine our insights for blindness, to lighten up or dig-in as the occasion demands and in the spirit of New Orleans, where the carnivalesque is the norm and the comic drama of the human barnyard is always in the third act.

Perspective by incongruity enables new meanings by "extending the use of term by taking it from the context in which it was habitually used and applying it to another" (Permanence and Change 89). We hope to see new meanings and new relationships develop at and beyond this fifth triennial conference of the Kenneth Burke Society.

Post-Prandial Parlors

One afternoon of the conference will begin with a concurrent series of informal Post Prandial Parlors, loosely guided conversations in which you are invited to dip your oar. These parlor sessions provide conference attendees to engage Burke in lively and creative ways (and even venues). Suggestions for topics and format are welcomed.

Keynote Speakers

James L. Kastely
University of Houston
(Ph.D., University of Chicago, 1980)

James Kastely is a nationally recognized expert in the history and theory of rhetoric and the author of Rethinking the Rhetorical Tradition: From Plato to Postmodernism (Yale UP, 1997).

Additional keynote speakers will be announced shortly.

Submissions of Papers, Abstracts, or Panel Proposals

The Society invites submissions of papers, abstracts, or panel proposals. Topics are open to any subject related to Burkeian scholarship. The deadline for all submissions is December 1, 2001. Each paper accepted for the program will be considered for a volume planned to come out of the conference. Awards will be given for both Top Graduate Student Paper and Top Paper overall. Only complete papers submitted by December 1 will be eligible for awards; please identify student papers as such in the submission cover letter only. Printed texts of all submissions (papers, 300-500 word abstracts, or program proposals) should be prepared for blind review. Please send four copies of all submissions to:

Ellen Quandahl
Department of Rhetoric and Writing Studies
San Diego State University
5500 Campanile Dr. 92182-4452
(equandah@mail.sdsu.edu)

or

Ann George
Department of English
TCU Box 297270
TCU, Ft. Worth, TX 76129 (A.George@tcu.edu)

Paper and and proposal selections will be announced by January 15, 2002.

Proposals from Seminar Leaders

The Society also invites proposals from prospective seminar leaders. One highlight of every KBS triennial conference has been topical seminars, which run each day of the conference and allow the seminar leader and participants the opportunity to sustain discussion of important subjects germane to the work of Kenneth Burke. Once seminars have been set, every conference participant will have the opportunity to self-nominate for these seminars.

Past seminar topics have included the following:

The immediate goal of each seminar is to allow a group of participants to explore a specific topic of pivotal common interest in multiple sessions spread throughout the conference; however, the ultimate goal is to enable participants to develop research questions and scholarly agenda that guide further work on the seminar topic. Seminar participants will prepare and present position papers, although formats may vary among the seminars. After the conference, seminar leaders will be responsible for writing a summary of the discussions for publication in the Society's newsletter.

Those interested in leading a seminar should send a one-page written proposal by e-mail attachment (Word or RTF), fax, or snail mail to

David Blakesley
Burke Conference Planner
Department of English
Purdue University
West Lafayette IN, 47909
Phone: 765.494.3772
Fax: 765.494.3780
E-Mail: blakesle@purdue.edu

Proposals to serve as seminar leaders should be submitted by October 1, 2001.

Nominations for Awards

The Society also calls for nominations for awards in the following categories: Lifetime Achievement, Distinguished Service, and Emerging Scholar. The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes sustained excellence in Burkean scholarship and pedagogy; previous recipients are Leland Griffin (1990), William Rueckert (1993), Bernard Brock (1996), and James W. Chesebro (1999). The Distinguished Service Award rewards major contributions to the work of the Society; previous recipients are Sharon Dailey (1990), James W. Chesebro (1993), Dale Bertelson (1996), and Robert Wess (1999). The Emerging Scholar Award honors a young scholar whose early work shows most promise for long term contributions to Burke studies; previous recipients are Dale Bertelson (1993), Mark Wright (1996), and Mark Meister and Glenn Stillar (1999 co-recipients). Nominations should include a brief rationale qualifying candidates for the Awards for which they are nominated. All nominations are confidential. Deadline for all nominations is December 1, 2001. Please submit nominations to

Andrew King
Chair
Department of Speech Communication
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, LA 70803
Phone: 225.578.6681
Fax: 225.578.4828
E-Mail: andyk@lsu.edu

Request for Archival Material

Finally, the Society invites persons and/or departments with videotapes, audiotapes, photographs or accounts of Kenneth Burke who would be willing to show, display or otherwise share those materials at the Conference to contact James Mackin at mackin@tulane.edu or David Blakesley at blakesle@purdue.edu.

Host Site

Events at the 2002 Conference will be held at a variety of locations throughout New Orleans and at Tulane University. The host hotels are the Holiday Inn-French Quarter and the Chateau Le Moyne, both within footsteps and located in the heart of the city's famous French Quarter. Both hotels are just a short trolley ride to Tulane, where panel sessions and seminars will be held. Keynote speeches and other ceremonies will be held at venues chosen to capture the spirit of New Orleans and the Conference.

Early Hotel Reservations: Space has been reserved at the Conference hotels. It may be limited, however, so those planning to attend may want to make reservations now. Contact information and pricing for the two conference hotels is as follows. In both cases and to receive conference pricing, you should identify yourself as a participant in the Kenneth Burke Society Triennial Conference:

Holiday Inn-French Quarter
124 Royal St
New Orleans, LA 70130
Phone: 800.747.3279; or, 504.529.7211
Fax: 504.524.9593
Single: $129 + Tax. Double: $129 + Tax

Chateau Le Moyne
301 Dauphine St
New Orleans, LA 70112-3199
Phone: 800.747.3279; or, 504.581.1303
Fax: 504.523.5709
Single: $149 + Tax Double: $149 + Tax

Additional lodging possibilities will be made available when space at these hotels runs out and as the conference time nears. Alternative lodging arrangements for graduate students will be announced in January 2002.

If you have questions or concerns, please contact David Blakesley at blakesle@purdue.edu.