Elective Affinities Conference: Call for Proposals (Modified by Kevin M. F. Platt)

[Kevin M. F. Platt]

Dear Colleagues:

Please consider participating in this conference--it should be a 
stimulating interdisciplinary event.

All best,

Kevin Platt.

Call for Proposals

International Association of Word and Image Studies:  Elective 
Affinities

Philadelphia, 23-27 September, 2005

The title of the conference has been borrowed from Goethe’s 1809 novel 
Elective Affinities.  There, the term “elective affinities” is the 
subject of an energetic debate.  A chemical term that was in currency 
from the late eighteenth century, in the novel it extends to human 
relationships, both intimate and political.  Since this is a novel that 
foregrounds “mixed media” such as tableaux vivants (i.e. dramatic 
performances of artworks) and the picturesque garden, the concept of 
“elective affinities” also has profound implications for the 
relationship between words and images.  Like the alkalis and acids of 
which Goethe’s characters speak, words and images, though apparently 
opposed, may have a remarkable affinity for one another.  At the same 
time, as one of the protagonists objects, such affinities are 
problematic, and “are only really interesting when they bring about 
separations.”  The conference seeks – in the spirit of Goethe’s 
allusive discussion – to explore word/image interactions in literature 
and visual arts from a broad historical perspective, and also as they 
extend to fields as diverse as Political Science, Religious Studies, 
and History of Science.

IAWIS invites submission of proposals for papers (250-300 words) to 
affinities at ccat.sas.upenn.edu

The deadline for submissions is October 1, 2004.

Please contact the organiser with any queries:

Catriona Macleod
Associate Professor
University of Pennsylvania
Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures
745 Williams Hall
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305
cmacleod at sas.upenn.edu
tel. (215) 898-7332
fax (215) 573-7794

International Association of Word and Image Studies website: 
 http://www.iawis.org

A list of panels may be found at: http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/affinities/


Associate Professor Kevin M. F. Platt
Chair, Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures
745 Williams Hall
255 S. 36th Street
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305

kmfplatt at sas.upenn.edu
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/slavic

Tel: 215-746-0173
Fax: 215-573-7794

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