CALL FOR PAPERS Memories of the Futures

CALL FOR PAPERS

Memories of the Futures

Date: 2-3 May 2014, London

Place: Chelsea College of Art and Design (UAL) & Institute of Modern

Languages Research

CALL FOR PAPERS

Memories of the Futures

Date: 2-3 May 2014, London

Place: Chelsea College of Art and Design (UAL) & Institute of Modern

Languages Research

Keynote addresses:

Sir Christopher Frayling, Dr. Malcolm Quinn and Prof. Alberto Abruzzese 

From our current ‘after the future’ position, where utopias have been crushed under the awareness that ‘the myth of the future is rooted in modern capitalism’ (Bifo), our imagination persistently draws on an extensive repository of symbols, forms and technologies rooted in history, imagination and memory. Yet, utopian visions of the future loomed large in the modern age, often fuelled by spectacular advancements in technology, applied arts and industries. Even though sequential temporalities and cyclical views of the past have become forcefully questioned by new technologies, the past is still a reservoir, repository and treasure-trove of cultural and symbolic signification which continues to be revisited and reconstructed imaginatively by individuals and communities. The further into the future you look, the further back in time you seem to get…. The conference will address questions such as: is memory scrambled, reversed, reconstituted? Is the future a thing of the past? Is ‘no future’ the new future? How do ancient myths and narratives construct future scenarios? How are myths and histories re-worked in contemporary artistic practises of the future present?

We welcome submissions on all areas related to suggested topics that include:

*   future memory – postmemory, prosthetic memory and the storage of memory in the age of the social media;

*   utopian and dystopian visions,  myths of the future and revolutionary movements;

*   future construction and reappropriation of the imaginary – myth, symbol, archetype, legend, fantasy, science-fiction and their contribution to imagining the future;

*   future commodities, biopolitics, neo-liberalism and the turn of art, fashion and design in late capitalism;

*   science, engineering and materials at the interface of fantasy and technology;

*   the future of mechanization – toy-making, robotics, cyborgs, automata, androids and clones ;

*   cyberpunk, steampunk and its derivatives (dieselpunk, biopunk and decopunk);

*   time and space models – parallel universes, upward mobility and future ecologies;

*   human/non-human – gene ethics, post-humanism, trans-humanism and the ethics of the interface human/gene machine;

In addition to traditional academic paper presentations, we encourage submissions using alternate forms, such as photographic works, art and design objects or multimedia presentations. Send a 250-word paper abstract to memoriesofthefuture@arts.ac.uk with a mini-bio by Dec 1st. 2013.

Steering Committee: Deborah Jaffe (Researcher and Writer), Georgia Panteli (UCL), Emanuela Patti (IMLR), Katia Pizzi (IMLR), Stephen Wilson (Chelsea College of Art and Design (UAL).