Revolution has often been associated with creative energy, one that is discontented with the status quo, “creating” an alternative reality. Creativity and revolution have often gone hand in hand; leading some to claim that creativity is revolution. Literary history has varied examples of revolutionary texts that demonstrate how poets/artists are indeed, in Shelley’s memorable words “the unacknowledged legislators of the world.” Participants are invited to consider how these “legislators” have predicted change, instigated revolt, and documented revolution.

Since late 2010, the world has witnessed economic, social and political upheavals inspired by a revolutionary spirit. In the humanities, this spirit is manifested in different forms, instigating change and reform that are at once inspired by and inspiring theories on both revolution and creativity.

The Symposium seeks to explore the various aspects of interaction between creativity and revolution-both old and new-and welcomes proposals for both theoretical and analytical studies on the role of creativity in generating the dynamic relation between creativity and revolution as well as the representation of revolution in creative texts.

Proposed topics include, but are not restricted to, the following:

Rhetoric of Revolution
Ideology of Revolution
Revolution in/and Literature
Digitizing the Revolution
Visual Representations of Revolution
Revolution and Translation
Language and Literature of Revolution
Discourses of Revolution
Revolution and the arts
Revolution and the Power of the People
Psychology of Revolution

Presentations may be in one of the following forms:

- Papers (20 minutes),
- Panels and Workshops (45 minutes).

Submission deadline: 30 March 2012.

The languages of the Symposium are English and Arabic.