EVENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM H-NET

This index comprises all verified entries from H-Net's events database
on the indicated dates.

The following announcements 3 were posted to the H-Net web site
between 2008-03-24 and 2008-03-25

[1]
Metamorphosis and the migration of forms: Exploring the sculptural
imagination in the decorative arts

This conference coincides with the exhibition Taking Shape: Finding
Sculpture in the Decorative Arts (2 October 2008 ? 4 January 2009), which
explores the connections between sculpture and the decorative arts,
focusing on baroque and rococo furniture. Historically, not only have
sculptors been employed to supply models for the decoration of objects
such as porcelain or tableware, but decorative artists and practitioners,
such as furniture-makers, have also developed complex sculptural
programmes, often of highly symbolic value, within otherwise functional
objects. Elaborate sculptural compositions, often involving themes of
fantasy and metamorphosis, are evident in objects ranging from tables to
lamps, vases to door-handles, picture frames to fireplaces. But while the
sculptural elements may be prominently visible in the objects themselves,
their meaning and role is often left unexamined.

This conference seeks to explore the vivid and rich sculptural language
that underpins the history of decorative arts, by focusing on the
iconographic, symbolic and metaphoric meaning sculpture brings to objects
intended for functional, ornamental or ceremonial use. While the
exhibition is focused chiefly on the 17th and 18th centuries, we would
also welcome submissions addressing these ideas in earlier or later
periods. We invite submissions from scholars, curators and practitioners
to develop visual and critical approaches to the complex conceptual,
visual and material interplay between sculpture and decorative art.
Submissions are particularly sought from object-based case studies with a
theoretical or thematic focus. MD

Please send a proposal of no more than 600 words, and a brief CV, to Ellen
Tait, ellenhenry-moore.ac.uk. Deadline: 1 May 2008

Ellen Tait
Henry Moore Institute
74 The Headrow
Leeds
LS1 3AH
Email: ellenhenry-moore.ac.uk
Visit the website at http://www.henry-moore.ac.uk

[2]
Opera Indigene: Critical Perspectives on Re/presenting First Nations and
Indigenous Cultures
Location: United Kingdom
Call for Papers Date: 2008-06-01
Date Submitted: 2008-03-21
Announcement ID: 161619
Opera Indigene:
Critical Perspectives on Re/presenting First Nations and Indigenous Cultures

September 27, 2008, Kings College London, England
Deadline for Abstract Submissions: June 1, 2008

Introduction

The representation of non-western cultures in opera has long been a focus
of critical inquiry. Within this field, the diverse relationships between
opera and First Nations and indigenous cultures has received far less
attention. ?Opera Indigene? will take this subject as its focus, and
examine it in three different aspects:

1. Historical and contemporary representations of colonised peoples at a
distance from Europe;

2. Historical and contemporary representations of colonised peoples from
within post-colonial nations with inherited history of colonisation; and

3. Artistic collaborations initiated by or including First Nations? cultures.

This conference will examine how representations of indigeneity are
negotiated in opera, and how these representations of First Nations?
cultures relate to historical and contemporary constructions of cultural
and national identity. The separation of the word ?re/presenting? in our
title seeks to address this distinction between how representations of
indigenous identity have been constructed in opera by non-indigenous
artists, and how indigenous artists have utilised opera as an interface to
present their cultural traditions in more recent collaborations.

Please submit abstracts of 300 words maximum to Dr. Pamela Karantonis at
Pamela.Karantonisuwe.ac.uk and Dylan Robinson at D.W.Robinsonsussex.ac.uk.

Dylan Robinson
Centre for Research in Opera and Music Theatre
University of Sussex

Email: d.w.robinsonsussex.ac.uk
Visit the website at http://www.sussex.ac.uk/cromt/1-3-8.html

[3]
Kidding Around: The Child in Film and Media
An Interdisciplinary Conference
September 26-27, 2008 (Rescheduled from Feb. 29-March 1)
University of the District of Columbia

The University of the District of Columbia Film Committee invites papers
on the theme of the Child in Film and Media for an interdisciplinary
conference to be held on the UDC campus on September 26-27, 2008.

Representations of children in today's media intersect with contextual
issues that demand scholarly consideration. As the academic and commercial
markets' attention to children's literature and media increases, the need
to explore how children are used, targeted, explored, and represented in
books, films, games, and toys grows. This conference will explore how
different media, particularly film, deal with definitions of childhood,
the place of the child in differing texts, and the connections scholars
and critics have made with these various forms of media.

Papers might consider (but are not limited to) the following topics:

· Historical Intersections: Children?s Media and History
· Illustrated and Animated: Visual Representations of Children
· So Unreal: Magic and Fantasy
· Dystopia/Utopia
· [Mis]appropriations of Racial Identity in Children?s Media
· Consumerism, Corporatization, and Advertising: The Child and the Market
· Violence: Screen to Text
· The Elephant in the Room: Sex in Children?s Media
· Nationalistic Fantasy, Identity, and Power
· Animals Among Us: Intersections of Human and Animal
· Graphic, Anime, and Manga: New Media, New Century
· Trains and Atari: Toys, Games, and Children
· Disability and Representations of the Child
· Him/Her/It: Gender and the Child
· The Virtual Space of Childhood: From 8-bit to HD

Papers addressing individual authors and works in developing these themes
are encouraged. Panel proposals are welcome.

Please email your 250-word abstract, contact information, and a brief bio
to Alexander Howe at: udcfilmyahoo.com

Please visit the conference website for more information:
http://www.udc.edu/films/ka.htm

Deadline for Submissions: August 1, 2008. Early submissions are appreciated.

Alexander N. Howe
Assistant Professor of English
University of the District of Columbia
4200 Connecticut Ave, NW
Washington, D.C. 20008
202-274-5658

Email: howe_acomcast.net
Visit the website at http://www.udc.edu/films/ka.htm