Negotiating Spectacle
Saturday, March 7, 2015
Tufts University, Medford, MA
Deadline for submission: October 31, 2014

Call for Papers:

It has been almost 50 years since Guy Debord wrote The Society of the Spectacle and thinkers after him have given various iterations of the influential concept of “spectacle.” Can we extend those arguments regarding the role of spectacle in the creation (or destruction?), dissemination, consumption of visual culture from antiquity to the present? The 2015 Tufts University Art History Graduate Symposium invites participants to consider how critical theory shapes historical interpretations of spectacular objects in specific contexts. We encourage submissions that consider how individual artists or institutions use material and visual culture to manipulate audiences through spectacle, as well as the audience responses produced. Submissions that offer contributions to art history, visual culture, literature, cultural studies, and related fields are all welcome.

We invite graduate students to submit a 300-word abstract for a twenty-minute presentation, along with a current CV by October 31, 2014.

All questions and submissions should be sent to tuftsartsymposiumgmail.com.