Boundless Affections: Methodologies in Transnational History of Same-Sex Desire in Literature (19th-20th centuries)

This international workshop is conceived as a preparatory event for the ICLA Comparative History of Literatures in European Languages Series’ Topic Volume Representing Same-Sex Desire. Local Contexts, Global Circulations in European Literary Cultures. (CHLEL : https://www.uantwerpen.be/en/projects/chlel/).

Date: September 19-20, 2024
Location: CEFRES, Na Florenci 3, Prague and online
Organizers:

• Mateusz Chmurski, Sorbonne-Université / CEFRES
• Clément Dessy, Université libre de Bruxelles
• Hélène Martinelli, École normale supérieure de Lyon / CEFRES
• Ana Isabel Simón-Alegre, Adelphi University
• Josef Šebek, Ústav české literatury a komparatistiky, Filosofická fakulta, Univerzita Karlova

Partners:

• Coordinating Committee for the Comparative History of Literatures in European Languages Series, International Comparative Literature Association (CHLEL-ICLA)
• National Research Fund, Belgium (FNRS)
• Research Centers STRIGES and Philixte, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium
• Adelphi University (New York), United States
• French Research Centre in Humanities and Social Sciences (CEFRES), Prague, Czech Republic
• Department of Czech and Comparative Literature, Charles University (ÚČLK FF UK)

The book project aims to embrace the complexity of same-sex desire representations in European-language literatures: from the late 19^th century and the beginning of the modernist movement, which is also a moment when contemporary definitions of homosexuality appeared in different European contexts, until the end of the 20^th century, which coincided with the years of AIDS pandemic and the remodeling of these representations. The last decades of the last century were a time of depenalization and theoretical discussions in many Western countries, which paralleled the emergence of new social and historical perspectives, in the gay and lesbian studies, later followed by another conceptual turn, with the development of gender and queer studies.

The choice of a positive definition of same-sex desire as a point of departure prevents us from approaching the question from a social, cultural, and literary point of view, which would be based exclusively on an opposition to heteronormativity. This allows us to observe different local specificities and tendencies in literary representations from a transnational and comparative perspective. Our goal is to observe possible discrepancies between various traditions as well as fruitful dialogues between them, instead of proposing a universalist coming-out model of lesbian, gay and queer literary history set as a progressivist narrative.

Representations of same-sex desire are to be understood in both “aesthetic (mimetic) and political (acting on behalf of) sense of the term” (Couser 2016: 3). This will allow us to focus not only on the circulation of forms, genres, disposals of texts, works, and authors, but also on their potential for identification. This can also help us to determine the patterns of their reception in local and transnational circulations, as well as their interactions with social and political discourses. Here the opposition to various sets of norms – the transgression of which can eventually become to some extent norms themselves – is part of the reflections proposed for this volume.

In the context of this workshop, all analyses must go beyond purely national frameworks, taking into account the diversity and specific context of each country and/or linguistic area. We will focus on discussing theoretical and methodological issues in comparative literature, such as:

1. (Dis)continuities: How can we compare the historical representations of same-sex desire in European languages in terms of continuities and changes? How can we avoid essentializing of identities in the process?
2. Epistemology: What methods and concepts have already been used to analyze these representations across languages and literatures? Were there studies dedicated to literary representations of same-sex desire prior to the 1970s that paved the way for the establishment fields of investigation, such as gay and lesbian and queer studies?
3. Canon / Subcanon(s): How does the emergence of literature exploring diverse sexual orientations and gender identities relate to both European literary traditions and transcultural/transnational perspectives? Can we trace a comparative history of a subcanon of same-sex desire representations in literature?
4. Genre: Can we identify a use of specific genres in relation to representations of same-sex desire:
   in fiction/non-fiction, drama, poetry, etc.?
5. Gaze/Style: Does a gay/lesbian/queer gaze exist in the literary treatment of same-sex desire representations? Do these representations use certain tropes and regularities of authorial self-representation, negotiation with (dominant) norms etc. across texts and literatures?
6. (De)centering: How might one identify the differences and similarities between peripheral literary developments (such as post-imperial, post-colonial, post-socialist) within different social, cultural, and political contexts marked by oppression under authoritarian or religious power structures, especially in their depictions of same-sex desire?
7. Cultural transfers and nationalisms: How can we think about the relationship between nationalism and representations of same-sex desire in literature and other media (e.g. national stereotypes, fear of cosmopolitanism…)? What role have various forms of translation and appropriation of texts representing same-sex desire played on national and transnational levels?

To submit a proposal, please send the following information before May 15, 2024:
a) Your written proposal in English, between 250 to 300 words, including your name, email, and university
b) A brief biography in English, between 200 to 250 words, using the provided Google form: https://forms.gle/jb6oixDphUUVkKqNA

The committee will notify decisions regarding the proposals sent starting from May 30, 2024.

Proposals via email will not be accepted. Partial or integral refund of travel expenses may be available.

For any inquiries, please contact:

• Mateusz Chmurski, mateusz.chmurski@sorbonne-universite.fr
• Clément Dessy, clement.dessy@ulb.be
• Ana Isabel Simón-Alegre, aisimon@adelphi.edu
• Josef Šebek, Josef.Sebek@ff.cuni.cz

The Translation of Humanities and Social Sciences

The colloquium aims to provide new insights into the dynamics of intellectual transfer and translation in Europe, exploring the distinctions and commonalities between Western and Central-Eastern Europe. With a focus on fostering lively discussion and facilitating the exchange of ideas and experiences, participants will endeavor to address the following inquiries:

Date: May 15th and 16th, 2025
Application deadline: Novembre 30, 2024
Location: Institute of World Literature, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia
Organizers: Katarína Bednárová, Silvia Rybárová, Ján Živčák (Institute of World Literature, Slovak Academy of Sciences)

“Science is one of the most significant factors in cultural life. It is the force that empowers nations. A powerful catalyst for cultural development, it embodies a profoundly moral activity, the advancement of which is a sacred duty of humankind.”
Ján Lajčiak, in Slovakia and Culture (1920) Continue reading CFP | The Translation of Humanities and Social Sciences →

Renaissance Principles and Their Early Modern Receptions: European Currents and Local Appropriations

A workshop organized by: the Institute of Art History Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague; CEFRES – French Research Centre in Humanities and Social Sciences, Prague; École pratique des hautes études – PSL (Paris, research university); Institute of Art History, Julius-Maximilians-Universität, Würzburg; Institute for Art History, Faculty of Arts, Charles University, Prague; National Gallery Prague.

Time: June 11 and 12, 2024
Location:  CEFRES, Na Florenci 3, Prague & National Gallery Prague
Proposal deadline: May 10, 2024
Language of the conference: English

This international two-day workshop for PhD students, post-docs and early career researchers focuses on the Renaissance as the key to the transformation of European art and society on the threshold of modern times. The normative approach often left aside Continue reading CFP – Renaissance Principles and Their Early Modern Receptions →

Facing Familiar Violence: Women’s Creative and Literary Practices in Central and Southeastern Europe in the 20th and 21st Century

The conference is part of the project “Displacements: Gendered-based Violence, Women’s Writing and Creative Practices in Modern Central and Southeastern Europe” (4EU+ mini grant). Continue reading CFP – Facing Familiar Violence. A 4EU+ International Conference →

Dynamics of Political Participation: Disciplinary Knowledge through the Prism of “Area Studies”

This PhD Students Workshop is organized withing the cooperation agreement signed by EHESS, CEFRES, Charles University and the Czech Academy of Sciences.

Organizers and chairs of the workshop: Lucie Drechselova (CETOBAC, EHESS), Falk Bretschneider (Centre Georg Simmel, EHESS), Mateusz Chmurski (director of the CEFRES)
Time and place: 26 September 2023 – CEFRES, Na Florenci 3, Prague 1 (with a possibility of online participation)
Proposal deadline: 25 May 2023
Deadline for submission of the final papers: 15 August 2023
Language of the workshop: English
Limited budget is available to support accommodation and travel costs of selected participants.

Keynote by Olga Lomová, Charles University et Tomáš Weiss, Charles University.

Eligibility: PhD students (and advanced Master’s students) in humanities and social sciences affiliated with CEFRES, EHESS, any university in the Czech Republic or based in Central and Eastern Europe understood broadly are invited to apply. Continue reading CFP – Dynamics of Political Participation. A PhD CEFRES–EHESS workshop →

Samuel Beckett in Central Europe. Stagings and reception beyond censorship

Researchers working on Beckett or on theatre in Central Europe are invited to meet in April  at the CEFRES and at Charles University. The aim will be to examine the political and aesthetic, and sometimes legal and social, issues that certain dramatic texts may embody, taking Beckett’s theatre as a case study. 

Date: Thursday 20th and Friday 21st April 2023
Location: CEFRES library and Charles University
Organizers: CEFRES in partnership with Sorbonne University, Paris, Bordeaux University and Charles University
Language: English
Convenors: Alice Clabaut, Charles Guillorit
Deadline for sending propositions: 31st January 2023

Abstract 

From the 1950s onwards, Samuel Beckett’s theater has been a fixture on all international stages. Plays such as Waiting for Godot, Endgame, and Happy Days have become canonical, and both Beckett’s texts and their influence can be found in most theaters. While Beckett was considered “absurd” in his early days, on the fringes of traditional theater and a self-confessed avant-gardist, he is now viewed as a repertoire playwright. Behind the Iron Curtain, however, Beckett was a persona non-grata, sometimes heavily censored, in most of the countries until very recently This political censorship — the extent of which depended on the country — slowed down the arrival of Beckett’s works and the delay undoubtedly had some impact on the reception of his theatre. To what extent was the arrival of Samuel Beckett’s work prevented, concealed and delayed in the former communist countries of Central Europe? To what extent can it still be perceived and understood in staging and in readings of his plays?  Continue reading CFP – Samuel Beckett in Central Europe →