The following call is intended for the RSA conference, which will take place in Miami, 22-24 March 2007. The proposed session is interested in papers dealing with public displays throughout the Habsburg Empires (both Austrian and Spanish branches). It will focus on civic occasions of pageantry, where ephemeral forms of art, carefully staged spectacles, and splendid rites of power, served to construct the ideal image of early modern rulers. The interpretation of these ‘multimedia’ events calls for an interdisciplinary approach, which will bring together specialists in communication studies, art history, anthropology, political sociology, and literature. The aim is to show the great variety of elite and popular celebrative elements (royal entries, tournaments, cockaignes, cavalcades, masquerades, court balls, firework displays, theatrical representations, and so forth) stemming from communities ranging from the most disparate geographical locations and cultural traditions that constituted the Habsburg world.

Proposals should include the following items:

1. Preliminary abstract, 150-300 words.
2. CV with e-mail address, phone and fax numbers.

Please send them via e-mail attachments to:
Jelena Todorović/Gabriel Guarino
jelenatodorovic@hotmail.com
guarino@research.haifa.ac.il