GGK/GCSC-Newsletter 1/09

Call for Papers: I Lisbon Summer School for the Study of Culture Lisbon, 27 June � 3 July 2011 [PhDnet]

Tue, 08 Feb 2011 03:30:29 +0100

I Lisbon Summer School for the Study of Culture
Lisbon, 27 June – 3 July 2011

PERFORMATICITY. Urban Performances and the Performative City

The first Lisbon Summer School for the Study of Culture results from a partnership between the Lisbon Consortium (UCP – Catholic University of Portugal, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, CNC - National Culture Centre, Culturgest, Portuguese Film Museum, National Theatre Museum and the City of Lisbon) and the ESSCS (Universities of Copenhagen, Giessen, Paris, London, Amsterdam, Lijubliana, Oslo).
As a powerful symbol of complex societies and as a place where culture’s creative energies find one of its most important outlets, the city is not only one of the key topics for the study of culture, but as well one where the synergies between the interpretative pull of the Humanities and the culture economy’s measured social impact can be most effectively articulated. Then again, the city is an important surface for modernity’s critical self-awareness, not only as a representational symbol but also as a collective subject of social action attracting creative and intellectual actors. Performaticity aims to foster a discussion on the performance of the city, the urban space as a locus of the performance arts, the city as performative cluster, as well as on performance as a useful tool for the study of culture.
Although performance metaphors have been widely used to address urban culture, for instance by referring to the city as a theatre of social action, a spectacular catastrophe, in Le Courbusier’s words, where the dramatic setting of human life finds one of its most privileged stages, the theatrical/ performative productivity of such concepts goes way beyond the metaphorical. Indeed, the city is not only the setting, but also ‘the front’ (Goffmann) for individual fixed performances, that is, it fosters certain behaviours and practices that are socially productive in that they are repeated, i.e., ‘twice-behaved’ (Schechner), and which also enable transformations of the self. On the macro level, the city then is not only theatrical, bringing about performative practices that impact identity constructions, but it also supports theatre and performance as institutional practices. The city then is a primordial place for the production of art. It is both performative and sponsors performance art, or said otherwise, it fosters art and is art, it creates theatre and is theatre.
The I Lisbon Summer School for the Study of Culture will meet in the cultural institutions which are part of the Lisbon Consortium and will take Lisbon as a spectacular setting for theoretically and practice oriented reflections on the city’s multiple performative dimensions.

The organizers welcome papers focussing on the following topics or other issues related to urban performances:
- Performance as concept for the study of city cultures;
- Lisbon as metaphor; representations of the metropolis; global modernities and city representations;
- Writing the city; literary neighbourhoods; the writer and urban modernity;
- The city as spectacle; urban performances/urban identities;
- Gound zero: disaster and reinvention; creative destruction and urban planning; creative neighbourhoods and the performance of city life;
- Performances of power in the arts: programming and curating; showcasing urban cultures;
- The city in performance art; (re)mediations of urban spaces;
- Glocal performances of city life; mimic spaces; (in)visible spaces and practices;
- Urban memories: the city as trauma and euphoria; empire and post-colonialism;
- Creative policies for the city; creative players and arts management.

The Summer School will be hosted by the Lisbon Consortium, June 27th-July 3rd 2011. Both doctoral students and junior researchers (post-doc) are invited to apply for the summer school.

Deadline for submissions: February 28th, 2011

Proposals for 15-minute papers should be sent to lxconsortium@fch.lisboa.ucp.pt by Monday 28 February 2011. Submissions should include the title of the proposed paper, an abstract in English (200 words), your name, e-mail address, institutional affiliation and a brief bio (max. 100 words) mentioning main research interests and projects. The Organizing Committee will return its decision by 15 March 2011.

Registration:
Registration fees (until 30 March 2011):
Non-Consortium participants – 250€;
FCH Students – 200€;
Participants – €50 per session/day
For The Lisbon Consortium students there is no registration fee.

Late registrations (after 30 March 2011) - 350€
The registration fee includes coffee-breaks, lunches, the Summer School closing session dinner and the social program of the last day.

Payment:
By bank transfer
NIB 003300000017013412105
IBAN PT50 0033 0000 0017 0134 1210 5
SWIFT BCOMPTPL

By cheque endorsed to:
Universidade Católica Portuguesa

and sent to:
The Lisbon Consortium,
A/C Cristina Nunes
Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Faculdade de Ciências Humanas
Palma de Cima
1649-023 Lisboa
Portugal

Please send us a copy of the bank transfer document to the e-mail lxconsortium@fch.lisboa.ucp.pt

Organizing Committee:
Isabel Capeloa Gil
Peter Hanenberg
Paulo de Campos Pinto
Ana Fabíola Maurício

Check this and further information:
www.fch.ucp.pt

Application successful: European PhD-Net "Literary and Cultural Studies" 2.0 starts in 2011 [PhDnet]

Thu, 13 Jan 2011 13:24:55 +0100

We are very pleased to announce that the German Academic Exchange Service, DAAD, has extended the funding period of the Giessen-based European PhD-Net in Literary and Cultural Studies. Starting January 2011, a new cohort of twelve aspiring young scholars from all five partner institutions (Bergamo, Giessen, Helsinki, Lisbon, and Stockholm) will commence their studies in the structured international PhD programme offered through the PhD-Net. The students will benefit from a tight network of jointly organised symposia, conferences and master classes, as well as intensive international supervision that will ensure the highest academic standards and lead to the award of a bi-national doctoral degree.

During Induction Week, to be held at Giessen from February 2 to 5, 2011, scholars will now not only be introduced to the PhD-Net’s partner institutions and programmes. They will also start to engage in lively academic exchange when learning about and discussing the projects their peers are investigating and attending keynote lectures and conceptual workshops held by distinguished faculty from all participating partner institutions.

We are very much looking forward to welcoming the new cohort and the productive and fruitful work that will ensue!

GCSC-Infotag: Direkte Kontakte und konkrete Tipps [CultDoc]

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Rund 100 Interessierte aus �ber 30 deutschen St�dten und aus dem Ausland lockte der Infotag des International Graduate Centre for the Study of Culture (GCSC) am 2. Februar nach Gie�en. Das Graduiertenzentrum an der Justus Liebig Universit�t hat sich die ma�geschneiderte Betreuung von Kulturwissenschaftlern in allen Phasen der Promotion zur Aufgabe gemacht. �Ein Dissertationsprojekt verlangt von jungen Forschern essenzielle Entscheidungen�, erkl�rt Professor Ansgar N�nning, Direktor des GCSC: Ist Promovieren �berhaupt das Richtige f�r mich? Mit welchem Thema will ich mich mehrere Jahre intensiv besch�ftigten? Und wie kann ich die Doktorarbeit finanzieren? All das sind Fragen, �ber die man sich bereits vor Beginn einer Promotion Gedanken machen muss. Thomas Edeling war einer der Teilnehmer des Infotags und hat bereits erste Erfahrungen mit diesen Herausforderungen gemacht: �Meinen Master habe ich in T�bingen in deutsch-franz�sischen Studien abgeschlossen. Dass ich meinen Doktor machen m�chte, habe ich schon w�hrend des Studiums beschlossen. Doch wie anspruchsvoll die Bewerbungsverfahren f�r gute Promotionsprogramme sind, das habe ich erst danach gemerkt.� Um angehende DoktorandInnen bereits fr�hzeitig f�r diese Anforderungen zu wappnen, fanden w�hrend des Infotages verschiedene Gruppenberatungen zur Themenfindung in den Kulturwissenschaften sowie zur Forschungsfinanzierung statt. Insgesamt zehn Stipendien konnte das seit 2006 durch die Exzellenzinitiative des Bundes und der L�nder gef�rderte GCSC im Jahr 2009 vergeben. �Eine Mitgliedschaft" so betonte Professor Ansgar N�nning, �lohnt sich jedoch auch ohne eines der GCSC Stipendien. Denn sie bringt durch rege Vernetzung und intensive Betreuung konkrete Vorteile f�r die Qualit�t der Forschungsarbeit.� Erste Eindr�cke dieser Unterst�tzung erhielten die Besucher im Verlaufe individueller Beratungsgespr�che mit den ProfessorInnen. So konnte sich Jonas Meyer sogar �ber ein vorl�ufige Gliederung f�r seine Dissertation freuen. Sein Res�mee: �Diese Veranstaltung hat mir wirklich durch direkte Kontakte und konkrete Tipps sehr geholfen. Ich bin froh, dass ich teilgenommen habe.� Text: Elisa Antz © Foto: Stephanie Nickel