Call of Paper: ZEUS – Graduate Research Workshop 14.11.2014

Negotiating Narratives in/for the
Third Millennium

ZEUS – Graduate Research Workshop

The 20th century has taken us from modernism to postmodernism, from colonialism to postcolonialism, from monoto transcultural concepts; our analytical methods and theories have been shaped by spatial, linguistic, ethical, and digital turns. Since Lyotard‘s influential definition of postmodernism as “incredulity towards metanarratives”, we have come to question supposedly fixed categories, deconstructing metanarratives and acknowledging the validity
of small narratives. As “pattern-building animals”, however, human beings rely on stories and categories to orientate themselves and, ultimately, make sense of the world. While an attempt to theorize the new century might at
this point be considered premature, we nonetheless would like to survey emerging narratives of the present. This workshop aims to offer a forum for critical engagement with narratives both in and for the 21st century. It invites
academics from the humanities, social sciences, and cultural practitioners to consider fictional and non-fictional narratives which shape cultural meaning-making in and for the third millennium.

Abstracts should include 200 to 300 words, and a brief CV that provides title, institutional affiliation, email and mailing address. Doctoral students are especially welcome to submit a proposal. Enquiries and proposals should
be sent by June 1, 2014 to narratives3rdmillennium@gmail.com.