Pedagogies of Desire
Conference Website: https://utopian-studies.org/conference2023/
Conference dates / location: November 9-11, 2023 / Austin, Texas*
Conference Co-Chairs: Jill Belli (Program Chair) & Stephanie Peebles Tavera (Local Chair)
Proposal Deadline: August 4, 2023 (extended from July 10!)
Proposal submission: https://forms.gle/QXpwQ6ANXuuhXuiq9
The Society for Utopian Studies is an interdisciplinary academic organization that has been meeting annually since its founding in 1975. This year’s 35th annual conference takes place in Austin, Texas (“The Live Music Capital of the World”) from November 8 through November 12, with sessions from Thursday through Saturday (the 9th – 11th).*
This year’s conference theme Pedagogies of Desire values and elevates the raw, radical power of desire: what lights us up, individually and collectively, and inspires us to become better people and build better worlds. It further recognizes and respects the critical role of pedagogy in channeling, structuring, and sustaining these emergent desires. Engaging Paulo Freire’s “pedagogy of the oppressed” as well as Miguel Abensour and Ruth Levitas’ notion of utopia as “the education of desire,” the conference organizers invite creative and scholarly responses that explore the themes of education, exploration, negotiation, and experimentation in pursuit of “becoming utopian,” in Tom Moylan’s words.
The conference organizers offer this theme expansively and inclusively, and invite you to respond in kind. We particularly welcome abstracts exploring any aspect of education, including:
- teaching and learning;
- curricular design;
- radical pedagogy or pedagogies of care;
- instructional design and digital pedagogy;
- accessibility;
- the changing institutions of education;
- the erosion of shared governance and institutional autonomy;
- non-traditional educational contexts.
We encourage scholars and practitioners from any academic field to contribute, including scholars in art and architecture, art history, literature, film studies, sociology, psychology, theory or philosophy, political science, digital humanities, health or medical humanities, women’s and gender studies, disability studies, critical race and ethnic studies, indigenous studies, and environmental studies, among others. Additionally, we welcome contributions from as well as architects, city planners, artists, and musicians whose work relates to utopian thought and possibility, and dystopian realities and visions. Members of intentional communities are also welcome to attend and/or present. Non-theme related papers are welcome.
Proposals of up to 300 words are accepted for presentations in the following formats:
- Individual Paper (12-15 minutes)
- Full Panel (3-4 speakers)
- Roundtable (3-6 presenters)
- Workshop
- Presentation or performance of a creative work or artifact
- Visual / audio presentation in the form of a poster and/or demo
Sessions will be 75 minutes. We particularly encourage pre-formed panels & roundtables comprised of shorter presentations with more allocated time for audience engagement. We ask that pre-formed sessions: have individual presentations of no more than 15 minutes each; leave at least 20 minutes of space (aside from presentations) for interactive discussion / Q&A. Please plan the number of presenters accordingly.
The Society for Utopian Studies is pleased to continue its long-standing tradition of providing funding to offset travel costs for graduate students presenting their work at its annual meeting via the Nicole LaRose Travel Grant.
We look forward to welcoming you in Austin in November! Please send inquiries to susprogramchair@gmail.com
*This will be an in-person conference. The Society for Utopian Studies maintains an ongoing commitment to the safety and comfort of those who choose to join us in Austin. Submission of proposals signals a willingness to follow any local, hotel, SUS or CDC COVID or public-health related guidelines.