“Spectres of Europe: Past and Present European Theatre between Communitarianism and Cosmopolitanism”.

Segnaliamo una interessante call for Proposal dell’EASTAP Journal.

estap.jpgQui di seguito pubblichiamo la Call


Spectres of Europe: Past and Present European Theatre between Communitarianism and Cosmopolitanism.

 

Issue Editors: Agata Łuksza and Aldo Milohnić

While for the last four centuries Europe has exported its political models and the consequences of clashes between its nations around the world, it is now facing the contradictions of such politics. Although respect for human rights and the right to asylum are still formally declared as indispensable to all European democracies, in response to mass migration from the impoverished periphery of the world to the rich centres, the radical right and conservative politics in Europe have grown significantly. This turbulence in the political arena of almost every European democracy is challenging “the modern ideal of cosmopolitanism” which, according to Étienne Balibar (2004) goes hand in hand with citizenship in modern nations. The international and multicultural foundations of cosmopolitanism collide with what Balibar calls “public communitarianism”, which is usually concerned with the protection of so-called “traditional values.” Although contemporary societies are irreducible to a single model of national assimilation, one can notice the recent strengthening of conservative communitarianism in Europe, “centred on the state and its exclusive claim to incarnate the universal.” Balibar, author of We, the People of Europe? argues that such a version of communitarianism demands and allows for a permanent stigmatization of the foreigner.
The first issue of the EASTAP journal would like to encourage critical thinking – embedded in theatrical, aesthetic, ethical and sociological contexts – regarding past and present ideologies concerning “identity politics” in Europe and beyond European borders (e.g. Edward Said, Homi Bhabha). In this Call for Proposals, we are predominantly interested in essays dealing with performing arts productions that challenge (realistically or metaphorically) authoritarian tendencies and conservative politics in Europe, especially in those artists who practise “fearless speech” (Michel Foucault) and, by doing so, commit themselves against all kinds of prejudices, including “antitheatrical prejudice” (Jonas Barish) as manifested in hostile attitudes of the above mentioned right-wing politics toward theatre. The artists, theatres and performance groups that can be highlighted in that context are, for instance: Christoph Schlingensief, Oliver Frljić, Teatr Powszechny, Teatr Doc, Tanja Ostojic, Lola Arias, Joana Craveiro and her Teatro do Vestido, Milo Rau and his International Institute of Political Murder, Pussy Riot, Zentrum für politische Schönheit, among others. We also welcome historical essays investigating the relationship between theatre practice/institutions and communitarianism/cosmopolitanism, especially the ways in which theatre and performance artists might have critically participated in debates on national, European or civic identities.

 

Topics may include, but are not limited to:

* Past and present cosmopolitanism in theatre practice;

* Theatre practice as parochialism or a voice of local/national community;

* Theatre institutions and contemporary politics in Europe;

* Theatre practice vs past and present ideologies: rebellion, dialogue, collaboration, propaganda;

* A foreigner in the theatre, the theatre artist as a foreigner;

* Contemporary cosmopolitanism and communitarianism vs historical concepts of the national theatre in Europe;

* Theatre as a site of producing/challenging national/European identity;

* Theatre audiences between cosmopolitanism and communitarianism;

* Theatre and the political consequences of the recent economic crisis in Europe;

* Potentialities and limits of contemporary activist/committed performing arts practices.

 

Proposals should be written in English, in MS-Word format and be between 600 and 700 words. Proposals must be based on original, unpublished work not under consideration for publication elsewhere. Please state in the proposal in which language you intend to write the paper.

If your proposal is accepted, you will be invited to submit a first draft of your article. Articles can be written in the language of author’s preference. However, at this stage of the development of the journal and EASTAP, we ask contributors to secure professional proof-reading for all articles written in languages other than English. Authors may also choose to publish their article in more than one language.

Submitted articles will undergo a double blind peer-review process.

The maximum length of the final article should not exceed 9000 words (including abstract in English and at least one additional language, references, a short note on the author, etc.).

 

Proposal deadline: 31 May 2018

First drafts of accepted proposals: 15 September 2018

Final drafts: 30 November 2018

Publication: December 2018

 

General enquiries should be sent to: Agata Łuksza <agata.luksza@uw.edu.pl>

Issue-related enquiries and abstract proposals should be sent to the issue editors:

Agata Łuksza <agata.luksza@uw.edu.pl>

Aldo Milohnić <aldo.milohnic@guest.arnes.si>

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