IN/DISCIPLINING THE MISFIT
A Transdisciplinary Conference at Duke University
September 2009
Sponsored By The Department of Romance Studies, Duke University
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: TBA
We are currently accepting submissions of works that treat the central idea of the misfit, specifically in the context of the discipline (and all of its connotations) and indiscipline that relate to this construct. The misfit, for the purposes of this discussion, is that which does not fit; the exception to a disciplined pattern. Misfits are as scientific as they are social; the condition of not fitting a system is essential, as is the phenomenon of the misfit’s becoming-mainstream. To this extent, the conference has the aim of being a meeting point across various disciplines to discuss the important questions of conformity and rebellion in contemporary thinking. We welcome papers and ideas from all fields, and only ask that the general theme of the conference is explored. Examples of what kinds of ideas are sought include:
§ Can misfits teach us something about the norms they are marginalized from? Can we
define a norm—whether it is social, aesthetic, moral, or religious—from the category of the misfit?
§ Are misfits dead? Is it possible to stand as a misfit in times of endless alternatives? To what extent are the politics of tolerance and diversity truly disciplinary practices?
§ What is a misfit in literary history? From the moment they are integrated to the “classics,” are misfits (books, authors, characters, aesthetics, etc.) disciplined or do they keep a certain autonomy?
§ How has the idea of the anomaly affected the concept of discipline in the biopolitics of the body?
§ In its euphoric as well as in its despairing versions, the misfit can be very funny. Where does the laughter produced by the misfit come from? What kind of laughter is produced, and what is it capable of?
§ Every historic time has created words to name and single out those who do not fit in the
dominant schemes of thought. What happens when those terms are appropriated by the ones they were meant to harm and isolate, and under which circumstances does it occur? What happens (with mainstream culture) when they do it as a political stance?
§ How is the misfit represented visually? What kind of visibility does the misfit have in our societies? Can a work of art or scientific work transform this social in/visibility? In cinema or in visual studies, what are the modes and possibilities of representation of the misfit?
§ Does the misfit have a peculiar use of language and/or linguistics? If language obeys a norm, what would be a marginal use of language? Can the misfit transform linguistics?
§ Is the misfit necessarily alone or can misfits be collectively organized? Historically, what kind of collectivities, social, racial, religious groups did not / do not fit and how did they organize? For what reasons? According to what systems of exclusion?
§ From the medieval period on, what ideological function have ugly, monstrous, and grotesque aesthetics served? How has the idea of differing from beauty become normalized?
§ The past 30 years of theory (literary, philosophical, and so forth) have been dedicated, in large part, to the deconstruction of systems of classification. As theorists attempt to put the puzzle back together, what will happen to the concept of the aberration?
§ In what context is it more convenient to be a misfit than a subaltern? Do subaltern studies discipline misfits?
Please send abstracts of approximately 250 words to: in.disciplining.the.misfit@gmail.com
Abstracts must be submitted in English. In order to facilitate discussion across the disciplines, presentations will also be made in English. Presentations will last 12-15 minutes. With your submission, please include on a separate page your name, institutional affiliation, phone number, street address, email address, and a brief biographical sketch focusing on your academic work. Deadline for submissions is June 15.