THE HUMAN CONDITION SERIES

3rd International, Interdisciplinary conference: EROS

May 21st & May 22nd, 2010

Nipissing University Muskoka Campus, Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada.

Second Call for Papers

Deadline for Abstracts extended to MARCH 1, 2010.

Erosthehumancondition@gmail.com

Keynote: Live Satellite presentation by Luce Irigaray

We are delighted to have Luce Irigaray deliver an original presentation for the EROS Conference via satellite from Paris. In Thinking the Difference, she writes “Poor Eros!…What has become of us, that we are so poor in love?”, inviting reconsideration of the Freudian position that relationships must be broken for civilization to exist. In her view, relations must be restored if we are to save ourselves and the earth from total annihilation. Irigaray’s ideas challenge the necessity of breaking the bonds of love, for it is human ties, like those shared by mother and daughter that are the “missing pillars of our culture”.

Guest Speaker: Tina Chanter

Tina Chanter, author of Ethics of Eros: Irigaray’s Re-writing of the Philosophers (1995), Time, Death and the Feminine: Levinas with Heidegger (2001), The Picture of Abjection: Film, Fetish, and the Nature of Difference (2008), and current book project: Antigone’s Affects: Political Legacies.

Roundtable on EROS: Shannon Bell, Gad Horowitz, Gary Kinsman, Sal Renshaw

Please join us for a roundtable where special guest scholars have been invited to respond to Irigaray and discuss their recent research in the area of EROS.

Shannon Bell is a fast feminist immersion philosopher and author of Writing and Rewriting the Prostitute Body (1994; Japanese trans.2000), Whore Carnival (1995), Bad Attitude/s on Trial (1997) with Cossman, et.al., and Fast Feminism (2004).

Gad Horowitz is a distinguished theorist and author of Repression: Basic and Surplus Repression in Psychoanalytic Theory: Freud, Reich and Marcuse (1977), and Everywhere They Are in Chains: Political Theory from Rousseau to Marx (1988).

Gary Kinsman, queer liberation and anti-capitalist activist and scholar, LGBT social historian, and author of The Regulation of Desire: Homo and Hetero Sexualities (1996), The Canadian War on Queers: National Security as Sexual Regulation (2009), with P. Gentile, co-editor of Whose National Security? (2000), and Sociology for Changing the World (2006).

Sal Renshaw is the Chair of Gender Equality and Social Justice at Nipissing University, and author of The Subject of Love: Hélène Cixous and the Feminine Divine, (2009).

Film Feature: Eros

“Eros” (2004) is the collection of three short films exploring the subjects of love, sexuality, and desire: “Il filo pericoloso delle cose”, directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, “Equilibrium”, directed by Steven Soderbergh, and “The Hand”, directed by Kar Wai Wong.

EROS & the World of Björn Wiinblad

An exhibit of selected objets d’art featuring the theme of EROS in the art of reknowned artist, Björn Wiinblad will be on display during the conference. Wiinblad, who died in 2006, was known and loved around the world for his depictions of romance, passionate love and sensual desire in the natural elements. Characteristics of his work include embraced lovers, gardens saturated with colour, brightly-clad dancers and musicians in floral wreaths, bountiful feasts, and overflowing gardens of twisting vines.

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“On the face of it at least, our civilization possesses no ars erotica. In return, it is undoubtedly the only civilization to practice a scientia sexualis…”

—Michel Foucault, The History of Sexuality, Volume 1: An Introduction

Though a human nature may not exist, there is comfort in the notion that a unifying force should subsist within all humankind: that is the will to live. Sigmund Freud thoughtfully named the driving impulse Eros. If humankind does possess, as a matter of our continuance as a species, an impulse for life, a drive to overcome all adversity in order to reproduce itself, what does this say of the human condition? How can desire, pleasure and love lead to social bonds that ensure the perpetuation of the species in healthy abundance? What types of relations cultivate worth and esteem in the individual, and how can destructive elements of these same tropes damage the psyche and dissolve the very relations that lead to a healthy self-concept? More specific to historical circumstances, how have male, hetero and white notions of love led individuals to abandon their genuine selves? How does pathos reveal itself in minds and in societies and how can we know when there is satisfaction in love or if an alternative object has been found through sublimation?

The Human Condition Series invites you to consider the concept of Eros, and to share original and revisited thoughts which transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries. We encourage expressions about how culture, habit, language, science and art, embody, remedy or fail Eros. Without prescription, we urge theorizations and analyses which seek to look beyond the here and now towards the possibilities to come.

Themes include but are not limited to:

• The concept of Eros in the work and scholarship of Luce Irigaray
• Heroines and Heroes of Eros
• The Eros of War
• The Eros of Motherhood
• Representation, construction, reproduction or analysis of Eros, Chaos or other mythological deities
• Subject/Identity formation and constructions of gender, sex and sexuality
• Eros and parthenogenesis in history and literature
• Categories of normativity, disorder, pathology or deviance in desire
• Eros as nature, power, cosmology, mythology, and society.
• Eros and the transformation of consciousness, near-death and dreamlike states.
• Sacred marriage, immortal/mortal love
• Sex tourism, sex trafficking
• From Eros as mythos to Eros as logos
• The sensuous in the human world
• Eros and Gaia in the marketing of holistic healing
• Contemporary Families and Eros
• Eros in women’s literature as a distinct tradition
• The role of Eros in different religious and spiritual traditions
• Semiotic approaches to Eros and culture, place, space, time.
• Featured Speaker, Luce Irigaray

To submit abstracts for consideration:

If your work addresses these themes specifically or the topic of Eros in general, please submit a working title, an abstract of 300-400 words, and a short biography, before March 1st, 2010 to Erosthehumancondition@gmail.com

Selected presenters will be notified by February 25^th , 2010 Extended to MARCH 15, 2010.

Presenters are required to submit a 10-15 page summary paper and pay early-bird registration by April 15^th in order to appear on the conference schedule.

Presenters will have until June 25^th, 2010 to prepare their manuscripts for submission to the double-blind review process for possible publication.

For further inquiries regarding the Eros conference please contact:

Toivo Koivukoski, Associate Professor of Political Science
Nipissing University, North Bay Campus
100 College Drive
North Bay, ON. P1B 8L7

Erosthehumancondition@gmail.com
Phone: 705.474.3450.4504
Fax: 705.474.1947

http://www.humanconditionseries.com

Join our Facebook group, The Human Condition Series, and see the events section for further info, updates and dialogue.

The Human Condition Series

3rd biennial International, multidisciplinary conference

EROS

May 21^st& May 22nd, 2010

Nipissing University Muskoka Campus, Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada (map)
Featuring a Live Satellite presentation by Luce Irigaray

On the face of it at least, our civilization possesses no ars erotica. In return, it is undoubtedly the only civilization to practice a scientia sexualis…

Michel Foucault, The History of Sexuality, Volume 1: An Introduction

Though a human nature may not exist, there is comfort in the notion that a unifying force should subsist within all humankind: that is the will to live. Sigmund Freud thoughtfully named the driving impulse Eros. If humankind does possess, as a matter of our continuance as a species, an impulse for life, a drive to overcome all adversity in order to reproduce itself, what does this say of the human condition? How can desire, pleasure and love lead to social bonds that ensure the perpetuation of the species in healthy abundance? What types of relations cultivate worth and esteem in the individual, and how can destructive elements of these same tropes damage the psyche and dissolve the very relations that lead to a healthy self-concept? More specific to historical circumstances, how have male, hetero and white notions of love led individuals to abandon their genuine selves? How does pathos reveal itself in minds and in societies and how can we know when there is satisfaction in love or if an alternative object has been found through sublimation?

The Human Condition Series invites you to consider the concept of Eros, and to share original and revisited thoughts which transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries. We encourage expressions about how culture, habit, language, science and art, embody, remedy or fail Eros. Without prescription, we urge theorizations and analyses which seek to look beyond the here and now towards the possibilities to come.

Themes include but are not limited to:

• The concept of Eros in the work and scholarship of Luce Irigaray
• Heroines and Heroes of Eros
• The Eros of War
• The Eros of Motherhood
• Representation, construction, reproduction or analysis of Eros, Chaos or other mythological deities
• Subject/Identity formation and constructions of gender, sex and sexuality
• Eros and parthenogenesis in history and literature
• Categories of normativity, disorder, pathology or deviance in desire
• Eros as nature, power, cosmology, mythology, and society.
• Eros and the transformation of consciousness, near-death and dreamlike states.
• Sacred marriage, immortal/mortal love
• Sex tourism, sex trafficking
• From Eros as mythos to Eros as logos
• The sensuous in the human world
• Eros and Gaia in the marketing of holistic healing
• Contemporary Families and Eros
• Eros in women’s literature as a distinct tradition
• The role of Eros in different religious and spiritual traditions
• Semiotic approaches to Eros and culture, place, space, time.

Featured Speaker, Luce Irigaray

We are delighted to have Luce Irigaray deliver an original presentation for the EROS Conference via satellite from Paris. In Thinking the Difference, she writes “Poor Eros!…What has become of us, that we are so poor in love?” [1], inviting reconsideration of the Freudian position that relationships must be broken for civilization to exist. In her view, relations must be restored if we are to save ourselves and the earth from total annihilation. Irigaray’s ideas challenge the necessity of breaking the bonds of love, for it is human ties, like those shared by mother and daughter that are the “missing pillars of our culture”.

Film Feature

“Eros” (2004) is the collection of three short films exploring the subjects of love, sexuality, and desire: “Il filo pericoloso delle cose”, directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, “Equilibrium”, directed by Steven Soderbergh, and “The Hand”, directed by Kar Wai Wong.

Apply to Present

If your work addresses these themes specifically or the topic of Eros in general, please submit a working title, an abstract of 300-400 words, and a short biography, before January 25^th, 2010, to Erosthehumanconditionseries@gmail.com or Erosthehumancondition@gmail.com.

Selected presenters will be notified by February 25^th, 2010.

Presenters are required to submit a 10-15 page summary paper and pay early bird registration by April 1st in order to appear on the conference schedule.

Presenters will have until June 25^th, 2010 to prepare their manuscripts for submission to the double-blind review process for possible publication.

For further inquiries regarding the Eros conference please contact:

Toivo Koivukoski, Associate Professor of Political Science
Nipissing University, North Bay Campus
100 College Drive
Northbay, ON P1B 8L7

Erosthehumanconditionseries@gmail.com

Erosthehumancondition@gmail.com

Phone: 705.474.3450.4504
Fax: 705.474.1947

For more information on The Human Condition Series please visit humanconditionseries.com

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[1] Irigaray, L. (1994) Thinking the Difference for a Peaceful Revolution, Routledge: New York.

Call for Undergraduate Students to Exhibit Poster Board Presentations on the topic of TERROR at the  2nd Annual Human Condition Series Conference

May 2 & 3, 2008 — Georgian College. Barrie. Ontario

The conference is interested in investigating what role Terror has in maintaining the contemporary condition of humanity and what hope there is of envisioning a condition in which Terror is natural and organic rather than strategic and imposed.

Possible topics include but are not limited to: The Laws of State-Terror, Communications of Terror, The Manufacture and Management of Terror, Deconstructing and reconstructing designations: “terrorism”, “Freedom fighter”, “peacekeeper”, “organized crime”, “legality”, and “human security”, Spaces of Terror. Gender, Sexuality and Terror, Recreational Terror and Terror as Text.

Poster Presentation Guidelines

Poster Theme: TERROR (broadly defined).

All accepted posters will be displayed for the duration of the conference on the second floor of K building.

What is a “poster”?

A poster is actually a bulletin board that displays an academic thesis or idea via a combination of visuals and text. A poster is an opportunity to convey an argument like an essay might, but in a visually appealing and more instantaneous manner.  It may be an overview of an intellectual concept, technical topic, problem, question, product, or case study.The typical poster is not just a shortened version of a presentation (although those are acceptable!); posters are less formal, more interactive, and may provoke argument. Your poster will be on view on a table-top with all conference attendees and presenters looking at it, so the main ideas should be clear without explanation.While the points of your poster should be clear without explanation, you can elect a person in your group to explain or present the display to viewers who will come from several disciplines and several cultural backgrounds.

Why posters?

More creative and conceptual than a linear essay.Less intimidating for undergraduates that would like to participate in an academic conference but are not prepared to present an abstract and argue a thesis to an audience.More viewers and more visual impact.Increases the variety of points of view regarding the themes and debates surrounding the broad concept of TERROR. Encourages two-way communication Allows detailed and esoteric presentations Provides a forum for “small” presentations (ideas shorter than a conference paper, of interest to only a few people, or which are best communicated graphically).An alternative method of a thesis that is allowed at academic conferences.

What Materials?

From one to three panels, with text large enough to read easily from 4 to 5 feet away. Use paper (or card stock) or Foam-Core and adhesive or tacks, whatever suits you.No more than 1 table top per entry.

What Format?

Determine the one essential concept you would like to get across to your audience concerning the topic of TERROR.Create a list of ideas you’d like to express in the presentation. Determine the size of the poster you’re going to work with and the kinds of materials you plan to use. Determine if you have all the elements you’ll need for the poster: Bits & pieces? Poster board, glue, razor blades, visuals ? Do you have the data you will need? How much time will you need to prepare the data for presentation (tables, photographs, etc.)? Outside agencies? Does material need to be sent out & returned (photographic services, collaborators)? A word of advice (the first of many; pick and choose what works for you). Preparing a poster will take as much time as you let it. Allocate your time wisely. There are always things that go wrong, so do not wait until the last minute to do even a simple task. This is a public presentation; by planning carefully, striving to be clear in what you say and how you say it, and assuming a professional attitude you will avoid making it a public spectacle. If you have little experience making posters, it will take longer (estimate 2 weeks at the very minimum). Too much lead time, however, encourages endless fussing about. Do the poster to the best of your ability, then go do something else. Remember this is an artistic AND intellectual exercise…there is a central thesis that you are trying to get across.

The Title banner?

This part of the poster includes the title of the work, (come up with something that exposes your position and ideas on TERROR) and the group members’ names.

Think BIG!

The title banner should be readable from 10 feet away. There are seldom rules regarding line justification of the title. Determine if you will left or center justify the text of the title banner once it has been formatted, based upon personal preferences and space constraints.

Use of Color

Mount poster materials on coloured art, mat, or bristol board: Mat board is available in a large range of colors. Mat board is heavier, making it more difficult to crease the poster while traveling. Mat board has a more durable surface than other art papers. Mat boards is, however, heavier and more difficult to attach to display boards in the poster session. Use a coloured background to unify your poster: Muted colors, or shades of gray, are best for the background. Use more intense colors as borders or for emphasis, but be conservative – overuse of color is distracting. If necessary for emphasis, add a single additional color by mounting the figure on thinner poster board, or outlining the figure in coloured tape. Color can enhance the hues or contrast of photographs: Use a light background with darker photos; a dark background with lighter photos. Use a neutral background (gray) to emphasize color in photos; a white background to reduce the impact of coloured photos. Most poster sessions are held in halls lit with harsh fluorescent light. If exact colors are important to the data, balance those colors for use with fluorescent lighting. Also, all colors will be intensified; bright (saturated) colors may become unpleasant to view.

Illustrations

The success of a poster directly relates to the clarity of the illustrations and tables. Self-explanatory graphics should dominate the poster. A minimal amount of text materials should supplement the graphic materials. Use regions of empty space between poster elements to differentiate and accentuate these elements. Graphic materials should be visible easily from a minimum distance of 6 feet. Restrained use of 2 – 3 colors for emphasis is valuable; overuse is not.

Poster text

Double-space all text, using left-justification; text with even left sides and jagged right sides is easiest to read.The text should be large enough to be read easily from at least 6 feet away. If you must include narrative details, keep them brief. They should be no smaller than 18 point in size, and printed in plain text. Remember that posters are not publications of record, and you can always come to the session armed with handouts. Attempt to fit blocks of text onto a single page: This simplifies cutting and pasting when you assemble the poster. Other options for fonts include Helvetica, Arial, Geneva, Times Roman, Palatino, Century Schoolbook, Courier, and Prestige. Note that these fonts represent a range of letter spacing and letter heights. Keep in mind that san serif fonts (having characters without embellishments) are easiest to read.Finally, be consistent. Choose one font and then use it throughout the poster. Add emphasis by using boldface, underlining, or color; italics are difficult to read.

Putting it together

Great – you’ve got a good story, supported by bunches of data and lots of quality graphics. How do you go about making all this accessible to an audience.

The Poster’s Background

Two basic rules to keep in mind are that 1) Artistry does not substitute for content2) The fancier the poster, the greater the time investment.There are several common approaches. Some folks use pieces of mat board (or Bristol board) to make a solid background for the entire poster. They may then choose to use a complementary colour as a border for important elements of the poster.Others use smaller pieces of board to frame only the elements of the poster, leaving spaces between the elements empty.Before you trim those elements which are more difficult to replace (photographs, etc.), lay the poster out again and have someone else view it with you. NOW is the time to look for errors in the text and correct them. If you do make any changes in the text, save those changes!

Adapted from :Woolsey, John D. (1989) Combating poster fatigue: how to use visual grammar and analysis to effect better visual communications. Trends in Neurosciences, 12(9):325-332.

The Organizing Committee welcomes the submission of posters for approval by April 30th, 2008. Please arrange approval by a committee member contacting one of the following organizers:

Darren Alexander, Bruce Meyer, Vincent di Norcia, Peter Burztyn, Guy Letts, Jane Haig, Herminio Teixeira, Beverly Bain, Sylvia Hunt, Anas Karzai, Michael Dartnell, Steve McDonald, Liane Cheshire, Ed Robinson and Marianne Vardalos. Deborah Clyne Derek Flear Katrina Dobson Andrew Preston Susan Mills