7 September 2023

The Centre of Excellence for the Study of Cultural Identity (CESIC), The British Cultural Studies Centre (BCSC) of the University of Bucharest  and New Europe College  (NEC) invite proposals for a conference dedicated to MA students, PhD candidates and young researchers on How to Be an Alien in British Cultural Studies to be held at New Europe College (21 Plantelor St., Bucharest) on Thursday, November 9, 2023.

Since its Birmingham School beginnings in the 1950s-60s, with theorists such as Richard Hoggart and Stuart Hall proclaiming a radical democratisation and broadening of the boundaries of the concept of culture, the discipline of British Cultural Studies has been changing and enriching continuously. It has been opening up to a largely dynamic inter- (or trans-) disciplinary, gender-diverse, multicultural understanding of cultural phenomena and their socio-political implications, tackling a variety of cultural exchanges that go beyond the UK and the legacy of the British Empire. How do we practice British Cultural Studies nowadays? How do we employ its theoretical tools to address contemporary cultural practices across the world? How do the theoretical mechanisms of British Cultural Studies reshape our perceptions of the past and of history?

We invite proposals for 20-minute presentations from MA students, PhD candidates and young researchers whose work is relevant to the conference focus on definitions, redefinitions and contemporary implications of the discipline of British Cultural Studies. Researchers in the fields of literature, film, music, theatre and performance arts, popular culture, media studies, history, politics, gender studies, intercultural and interdisciplinary communication are welcome. Papers may address issues such as (but not limited to):

– the current relevance of the discipline of British Cultural Studies outside the UK and the Commonwealth;
– the impact of British Cultural Studies on and legacy of the British Empire in the rest of the world;
– British Cultural Studies in the age of post-Brexit UK;
– the UK, globalization and the environment;
– expanding British Cultural Studies: UK minorities and global migration;
– diversity in current identity definitions in the UK and the world;
– complications of cultural identities and new theoretical insights into identity studies;
– deprovincializing postcolonialism: critiquing and “cross-examining” Britain-centered postcolonialist cultural studies;
– the role of intellectual and cultural history in contemporary British Cultural Studies;
– theoretical outposts and their practical use in British Cultural Studies.

Please submit a 200-word abstract with a title, 5 keywords and a 100-word bio note attached as an MS Word file to sabina.draga.alexandru@lls.unibuc.ro. MA students are required to also mention the name of an academic advisor who has agreed to supervise their writing of the paper and preparation of the presentation. Please include your contact information (name, affiliation, phone number and email address).

Deadline for submissions: Friday, September 15, 2023.

Notifications of proposal acceptance: Friday, September 29, 2023.

For any questions, please contact dr. Maria-Sabina Draga Alexandru (sabina.draga.alexandru@lls.unibuc.ro).