ANZSA 2016: Shakespeare at the Edges – Call For Papers

ANZSA 2016: Shakespeare at the Edges
University of Waikato, Hamilton, NZ
17-19 November, 2016

The Australian and New Zealand Shakespeare Association (ANZSA) calls for papers for its biennial conference Shakespeare at the Edges. We meet at the edge of Shakespeare’s World―12,000 miles from Shakespeare’s Globe. The location of the conference is a chance in the quadricentennial year to think about “edges” in Shakespeare from a wide range of perspectives. Papers might consider (but not feel restricted to) the following:

  • Does it mean anything to read/perform Shakespeare at the edges? Does location continue to make a difference?
  • Does 2016 represent an edge in Shakespeare Studies? Where have we come to over four hundred years and where should we go to next? Are some lines of inquiry leased out? Are others opening up in, say, performance studies, digital/media approaches, new archival studies?
  • How does thinking about the edges (paratexts) of the play text or the stage enrich understanding of early modern theatricality?
  • What happens if we place Shakespeare at the edge and place other writers at the centre? Should we reshape our sense of the Early Modern?
  • Is Shakespeare edgy? Does he explore “edges” as some have claimed? Where and how is he edgy, and where does he play it safe?

The Conference will feature plenary and panel sessions, live performance and film screenings. Conference highlights include keynote addresses by Lisa Hopkins (Shakespeare on the Edge, 2005, and Renaissance Drama on the Edge, 2014); and Margaret Jane Kidnie (Shakespeare and the Problem of Adaptation, 2009, and Shakespeare and Textual Studies, ed. with Sonia Massai, 2015); and a special performance for delegates of Regan Taylor’s commedia-inspired Maori adaptation: Solothello. Proposals for panels, papers, and interactive workshops are all welcome.

Inquiries and proposals should be sent to: anzsa2016@waikato.ac.nz by July 1, 2016.

Proposals of 200 words should include a 50-word bio noting institutional affiliations (if any). Research Higher Degree students will be invited to submit their paper in advance for the Lloyd Davis Memorial Prize for best postgraduate paper. The best paper will receive an award and scholarly mentoring from a senior member of ANZSA. Details for the prize, and notification of a professional seminar for grad/post grad researchers on the afternoon of November 16, will be circulated later.

Mark Houlahan, English Programme, University of Waikato
ANZSA President and Conference Convenor: maph@waikato.ac.nz