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We are pleased to announce a Call for Papers for contributions to the Melbourne Metamodernism Conference. Combining in person and online presentations, this event will be held at La Trobe University (Bundoora), VIC, Australia, on the 2nd and 3rd of February 2023.
This event is sponsored by the AHRC Metamodernism Research Network, an interdisciplinary network of scholars in literary, media, social, religious, and cultural studies that has convened since 2018. Members include participants from the UK, the Netherlands, and the United States, as well as Finland, South Africa, Canada, Japan, Russia, Australia, Germany, China, Belgium, Sweden, and Poland. As part of its 2023 offerings, the AHRC will host events in two of these countries. The Melbourne event will look to bring together researchers from the above areas of study along with independent scholars, artists/performers, and cultural critics.
Often defined as a ‘structure of feeling’, metamodernism describes a range of emerging cultural trends. According to Robin van den Akker and Timotheus Vermeulen, this ‘structure of feeling’ situates itself epistemologically with (post) modernism, ontologically between (post) modernism, and historically beyond (post) modernism. This event will explore metamodernism as a possible alternative to post-postmodernism through the examination of visual arts, communications, film, television, literature, poetry, spirituality, advertising, and more. Across all disciplines, metamodern works can be understood as those that engage the conflicts between modern and postmodern sensibilities, or that re-engage modernist sensibilities in a fresh, post-millennial way. These conflicts typically include a noticeable oscillation between modern enthusiasm and postmodern irony, hope and melancholy, sincerity and cynicism, naïveté and knowingness, unity and plurality, empathy and apathy, totality and fragmentation, purity and ambiguity, meaning and doubt, sense and absurdity.
The Melbourne AHRC Metamodernism Conference aims to provide scholars and other experts interested in society, culture, and communications with an opportunity to engage and address ideas related to metamodernism and further people’s understanding of this emerging cultural sensibility. Furthermore, the event aims to provide those unfamiliar with the term with an insight into the way these trends can be identified, understood, and applied.
The conference will consist of three parts:
- Two panels of keynote speakers who research in the area of metamodernism
- A symposium of papers presented in a meaningful and useful way to fellow scholars while still being accessible and interesting to a general audience
- An option for dinner, drinks, and discussion for participants and audience
(Registration fee to be advised)
We plan for this to be a hybrid event in the sense that online participation will be possible. The time of the panels and offering will be designed with an attempt to accommodate European and other time zones if possible. However, international presenters should consider the potential time difference before applying. Should there be more submissions than we can accommodate preference may be given to proposals from those who can present in person.
We are also pleased to announce the possibility of some ECR bursaries to help support the Melbourne event in February 2023. For more information contact A.Rowland@mmu.ac.uk
Submission Requirements
Proposals for individual papers should be submitted in the form of an abstract of 200-300 words. Presentations for the event should aim to be roughly 15–20-minutes in length. Proposals should be submitted no later than November 1st, 2022. Please make clear in your abstract how your paper will advance the existing research on metamodernism and how it will further those unfamiliar with the term to better understand the emerging sensibility.
Please state whether you intend to participate in-person or not.
Please include a short biographical paragraph of no more than 150 words.
All submission should be sent to: g.young@latrobe.edu.au
All authors accepted for the conference will be notified on or before November 30th.Information regarding possible accommodation for the event can be found here.
Graham Young, Lead Organizer
AHRC Metamodernism Board:
Anthony Rowland, Manchester Metropolitan University
Usha Wilbers, Radboud University
Dennis Kersten, Radboud University