|
Call for Papers
Toward a Comparative Discussion on “Rightist” Movements
Conference Thursday March 13 and Friday March 14 2008
Graduate Center, City University of New York
The utopian project of neo liberalism together with associated forms of 'globalization' have significantly altered the organization and conceptualization of 'the nation' as well as of economic, social, and political society. The anxieties caused by these shifts have in turn compelled the rise of an array of communitarian, culturalist, racial, or nationalist movements often defined as 'rightist' or 'conservative'. While these terms serve to categorize a variety of types of movements, the global refraction and deployment of these terms often has the effect of obscuring the particulars shared and distinctions and relations between the movements described.
Through the interrogation of the employment of 'rightist' and 'conservative' language and projects across the globe, this conference will explore the commonalities and differences between the anxieties, imaginaries, solutions, and contexts of specific movements. By examining the particulars of a few of these movements and interrogating the appropriateness of the labels used to describe them, this conference seeks to generate a comparative conversation about what constitutes this political 'shift to the right'. The conference will include several roundtable discussions between scholars to explore the relationship between ‘conservative’ cultural and nationalist mobilizations and the broader economic policies that these mobilizations support, contest, and/or respond to.
This interdisciplinary conference seeks papers focusing on, but not limited to, specific case studies of ‘rightist’ or ‘conservative’ movements, theoretical examinations of ‘the right’ in political and economic fields, historical accounts of various rightist movements, or broader analytic works that explore the theoretical framing of “rightist” and “conservative” movements, ideas, and policies. All speakers will be asked to consider the following themes in their paper presentations:
What criteria are used to define ‘the right’?
Can we understand ‘rightist’ ideas or mobilizations as based on a particular relationship between culture and economics? How might we understand this relationship from a comparative perspective?
How do we understand ‘the right’ in relation to ‘the left’?
Is ‘the right’ a useful category of analysis?
Abstracts, limited to 250 words, should be sent to rightistconference@gmail.com no later than January 20th, 2008. We ask that, if possible, participants plan to stay for the duration of the two day conference as our goal is to hone a common vocabulary for comparative purposes.
We are pursuing publication options for a selection of conference papers. We are looking for papers from scholars within and outside of the academy. Additionally, we are also able to provide a select number of home stays for those attending the conference from outside of the New York area.
The conference will begin on Thursday and will include a plenary discussion between Joseph Lowndes, author of the forthcoming book The Southern Origins of Modern Conservatism (Yale U. Press), and Kimberly Phillips-Fein, author of the forthcoming book tentatively titled The Great Utopia: How American Business Fought the New Deal Order. The conference will end on Friday with a roundtable discussion followed by a reception.
This Conference is Sponsored by The Center for Humanities, Department of Anthropology, Center for Place Culture and Politics- all of the CUNY Graduate Center. The conference will be free and open to the public, and all CUNY students.
| 
