DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS EXTENDED TO JANUARY 25TH, 2008

Recognizing (Dis)Order

„Aufgabe von Kunst heute ist es, Chaos in die Ordnung zu bringen“
-Th. W. Adorno, „Minima Moralia“

Ist alles in Ordnung? Muss Ordnung sein? Herrscht hier Ordnung? Erhält Ordnung die Welt? In the 10th Annual Graduate Student Conference of the German and Dutch Graduate Students’ Association at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, we will explore the concept of order and its inevitable subversion and disruption in German and Dutch literature, culture and language. How is structure conceived of, implemented, and regulated? How do individuals negotiate between conformity, resistance and rebellion in both the private and the public sphere? How does the concept of order regulate literary and artistic production? How do we approach and receive the apparent order in texts? How is language structured, regulated and changed?

Reflecting the diverse research interests of the Department of German, this conference will feature panels on literature, cultural studies, linguistics and Second Language Acquisition.

We will consider abstracts dealing with the concept of order in all areas of Germanic linguistics, including phonetics, syntax, morphology, and socio- and historical linguistics. Possible topics might address:

Prescriptive and descriptive grammars
Word order and syntax
Learner resistance and curriculum issues
Language contact and koinés

Abstracts on literary and cultural topics may include but are not limited to the following themes:

1) Individual measure, moderation and excess
(Dis)orderly bodies and minds
Ostracism, exclusion, crisis (Nachdenken über Christa T. by Christa Wolf)
The gendered body and mind
Repression, digression, psychosis
Family politics (Das Muschelessen by Birgit Vanderbeke)
The invention and performance of tradition

2) Revolution, war and peace
Class conflict and social hierarchy (Kabale und Liebe by Friedrich Schiller)
Defining utopia vs. dystopia
Social upheaval and times of political instability
Representations of natural and/or man-made disasters (Der Schimmelreiter by T. Storm)
Germany’s place in the world

3) Structuring narrative:
Textual order and narrative disruption
Ordering of time and space (Das Ornament der Masse by Sigfried Kracauer)
Narratological hierarchies and taxonomies
Rephrasing genre (fairy tales, detective literature, the Bildungsroman, etc.)

Abstracts of no more than 250 words must be received by January 25th, 2008. Submissions should not bear the author’s name. Please include the following information as a separate attachment: name, title of paper, department and university affiliation if applicable, and reliable contact information. Papers should not exceed 20 minutes in length (8-10 pages) to allow for 10 minutes of discussion after your presentation. Pending availability, some travel funds may be available, but participants are strongly encouraged to seek support from their home institutions.

Please send abstracts by mail or email to:

GDGSA Conference Committee
c/o Maria Carone
Department of German
University of Wisconsin-Madison
818 Van Hise
1220 Linden Drive
Madison, WI 53706

Email: carone@wisc.edu