Shakespeare at the Edges: Call For Papers Extended

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

The final deadline for the CFP for ANZSA2016: Shakespeare at the Edges will now be Thursday September 1, 2016. Abstracts submitted before the final date will be considered and the proposers notified progressively. Email: maph@waikato.ac.nz or anzsa2016@waikato.ac.nz. For conference details see: http://conference.anzsa.org.

The Australia 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 Douglas Bruster (Shakespeare and the Question of Culture, 2003, and Shakespeare and the Power of Performance, 2008 with Robert Weimann); Lisa Hopkins (Shakespeare on the Edge, 2005, and Renaissance Drama on the Edge, 2014); a special performance for delegates of Regan Taylor’s commedia-inspired Maori adaptation: Solothello; delegates will be able to attend Carving in Ice’s production of Love’s Labour’s Lost in the playhouse on the University Campus. Seats will be reserved for Friday. November 18. The Conference dinner will be at the Green Dragon Pub, Hobbiton, 45 minutes drive from the University of Waikato.

Proposals for panels, papers, and interactive workshops are all welcome.

Inquiries and proposals should be sent to: anzsa2016@waikato.ac.nz by September 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.