Panel Proposal for the GSA Conference, Oct 3-6, 2013, in Denver, CO

We are seeking papers that explore the paradoxical discourse of primitivism in 19th and 20th century German thought, literature and the arts. In primitivism, the so-called "primitive" culture is at once radically other to the European, yet at the same time instantly available for appropriation. It is a discourse predicated ambivalently on alterity and affinity; regression and immediacy; forms of colonial domination and fictions of universal humanity. Why and how did various thinkers, writers and artists appeal to the "primitive," whether construed as colonial other, primal self, or primordial being? How did engagement with primitivist thought lead to reconfigurations of such concepts as authenticity, hybridity, nature, and autonomy? Approaches to primitivism from the perspectives of ethnography, philosophy, history, psychology, visual culture and literature are encouraged.

Please email a short abstract (250 words) of your proposed paper to Andrew Cavin (aicavin@umich.edu) or Joshua Dittrich (dittrichjoshua@gmail.com) by Feb. 8.