Oppositions: An Interdisciplinary Postgraduate Conference
Oppositions: An Interdisciplinary Postgraduate Conference
28th and 29th September 2012
University of Salford
This conference seeks to explore ideas of opposition through the full range of disciplines
in the arts, media, and social sciences. In the context of the current crisis of
capitalism, there are many examples of the forms 'opposition' can take: the Tea Party in
the United States, the rise of fascist groups, campaigns run via new technologies and
social media, religious fundamentalisms, and general strikes in Greece. Though it carries
radical overtones, 'opposition' in itself is not tied to any particular dogma, left or
right.
We invite papers that explore the value and values of opposition as a position to be
adopted by individuals or groups. We welcome proposals for papers from postgraduates that
engage with any aspect of opposition.
These could include, but are by no means limited to: the 'culture industry' and alternative
youth cultures; opposition parties within parliamentary politics; grass-roots activism; the
history and future of the labour movement; hegemony; Foucauldian 'resistance' and its
limits; radical pedagogies and the role of the University; community and class; the
aesthetic value of non-mainstream or outsider art; aesthetic oppositions such as
contrapuntal music or bricolage; and the formation of creole or pidgin languages.
Papers are welcome from fields such as politics, literature, philosophy, anthropology,
religions and theology, geography, sociology, history, classics, translation studies,
linguistics and social linguistics, visual and screen studies, new media and communication
studies, and the performing arts. Interdisciplinary papers are very welcome. Keynote
speakers TBC.
Abstracts of 250 words are invited for presentations of 20 minutes. Proposals for
performances, screenings etc. are also accepted. The conference intends to publish an
edited volume of the best papers presented. Send abstracts to
oppositionsconference[at]gmail.com by 6 July 2012.
28th and 29th September 2012
University of Salford