Fallout: Visions of Apocalypse
12th Annual York University Art History Graduate Student Symposium

Across cultures and historical periods, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic narratives explore what happens when the status quo breaks down. Far from timeless or abstract, apocalyptic narratives embody a particular society’s worst fears and greatest anxieties: monstrous figures populate these narratives, wreaking havoc by transgressing moral, sexual, economic, political, ecological, religious or scientific orders. While apocalyptic anxieties can fuel oppressive regimes of fear and paranoia, the heralding of the end of civilization is often commensurate with revolutionary ideas. The destruction of apocalypse is never total, the end never ultimate; there is always another side to apocalypse, a renewal after the destruction. Even as the projected date of each apocalypse passes, predictions never seem to wane. In popular media, predictions about the end of the Mayan calendar on December 12, 2012 loom large (and we boldly schedule our symposium some four months later). Eurocentric visions of apocalypse largely reinforce dominant Judeo-Christian values, and the appropriation of the Mayan calendar end date as a site for apocalyptic speculation suggests a further need to engage with diverging notions of the apocalypse across cultures and societies. Further prevalent contemporary narratives envision the end of civilization through divine judgement, pandemics, ecological disasters, technological revolts, attacks of the undead and the self-extinction of humans—each of these incorporating its own ideological underpinnings. In the current moment of speculation about the world’s end which seems ever-increasing, we recognize the need for theoretical and thematic engagement with the apocalyptic.

The myriad visual representations of apocalypse exemplify the potential for apocalyptic narratives as mechanisms of pleasure, control and resistance. For Fallout, the York University Art History Graduate Students’ Association invites proposals for presentations that develop critical perspectives on the apocalypse. We invite submissions that critically examine these discussions in art and visual culture and evaluate their role in society. Subjects for discussion may include, but are not limited to:

- apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic narratives in art, media, visual and popular culture
- contemporary manifestations of apocalypticism: survivalists, religious extremists, conspiracy theorists
- critical engagements with messianic narratives
- utopian narratives and the question of redemption
- philosophical engagements with teleology
- post-humanist theory in artistic practice
- monstrous bodies and the reclamation of monstrosity
- ecological and architectural transformation in the absence of humans
- visualizing state responses to environmental catastrophe
- the aesthetics of ruin and decay
- anarchy and the dissolution of the institution
- conservation and preservation of works of art during times of threat
- the end of art and art history in discourse

We invite presentations of contemporary and historical studies in a range of formats: traditional paper presentations, workshops, artistic interventions or performances and other experimental formats. While an emphasis will be placed on these discourses in art and visual culture, we also welcome cross-disciplinary interpretations of the theme.

Please send a 250-word abstract of your paper along with a working title, curriculum vitae, and contact information to ahgsaygmail.com. Specify the format of your presentation, keeping in mind that it should be no longer than 20 minutes in length.

A selection of Fallout presentations will be published in a special issue of FUSE Magazine, to be released in June 2013. All symposium participants will be invited to submit their presentation for review by the FUSE editorial committee.

The symposium will be held on March 9, 2013 at York University, Toronto, Canada.

Deadline for submission: December 3, 2012
Successful participants notified: January 9, 2013

The Art History Graduate Students’ Association (AHGSA) of York University is a student-run organization open to all members of the York University community. The AHGSA seeks to represent the interests of those in the art history graduate program. For more information, visit ahgsay.com.

FUSE Magazine is a Toronto-based arts and culture quarterly that publishes at the intersection of contemporary art and social justice. FUSE is a site of discussion, dissemination and mobilization. With a 35-year publishing record, FUSE plays a pinnacle role in providing reporting, documentation and critical thinking on socially and politically engaged arts practices. For more information, visit fusemagazine.org.