Graduate Symposium
Material Networks | Networked Materials

"We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men."
(Henry Melvill, Golden Lectures, 1855)

A network, as a universal concept, is any interconnected system of people and objects. Networks are a primary and innate function of all cultures, promoting communication and exchanges of objects and ideas. Our vision of the "material network" focuses on the objects and ideas of exchange, the messages they convey, and their changing identities and associations across diverse temporalities, geographies and cultures.

Topics may include but are not limited to:

- Patrimony
- The practice of collecting
- Coercion, occupation, and foreign missions
- War, looting, and spolia
- Correspondence and gift exchange
- Travel and trade

The conference will take place on May 6, 2011 at the Bard Graduate Center in New York City. Students currently enrolled in a graduate program are invited to submit an abstract not to exceed 500 words (eventually for a 20-minute paper) as well as a current C.V. or résumé in PDF format to bgc.symposium.2011gmail.com. Please send your submission before Friday, February 4, 2011. Accepted speakers will be notified via email by the end of February.
Bard Graduate Center | 18 West 86th Street | New York, NY 10024 www.bgc.bard.edu

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Graduate Symposium Committee
Bard Graduate Center
38 West 86th Street