It is with great regret that we inform you about our decision to cancel ExRe(y) 2020. We feel that this is the only and right thing to do in light of the continued uncertainty about the spread of the COVID-19. As it is unclear how the pandemic will unfold, we are not rescheduling the conference but cancelling it completely. We are very sorry but we hope you understand; our first priority is the health and well-being of our participants. Stay safe.
Conference organizers
Department of American Literature and Culture at Maria Curie-Sklodowska University is pleased to announce the third ExRe(y) conference. A three-day international conference “ExtReme 21: Going Beyond in Post-Millennial North-American Literature and Culture“ will be held on June 4-6, 2020 in Lublin, Poland.
We invite proposals for papers and panels that focus on the topic of the (broadly understood) extreme in American and Canadian literature and culture of the last two decades.
Topics may include, but are not limited to the following:
- Golden Oscar Raspberry – bestsellers, blockbusters, flops
- TL;DR – new forms of cultural/literary expression, short beats long, readership, language change/corruption/development
- wow vs. meh – scandal, controversy, normcore, can Sims die of boredom?
- extreme -isms (e.g. radicalism, extremism, fundamentalism, conservatism, liberalism)
- (post-)9/11 – terror, war, suspicion, discrimination, conspiracy, surveillance, safety, Enduring Freedom?
- human dominion vs. bio gaze – the Anthropocene, are we too many?, extreme nature, disaster scenarios, elitist issue?
- time shift – human time vs. deep time, real time, 24/7, transience, no time
- post/transhumanist aesthetics/ethics
- millennial fatigue and the mechanics of overexposure
- hyper-/hypo- (e.g. aesthesia, criticism, kinesia, media(tion), reality, sexuality)
- architectural (non-)extremes – slums vs. gated communities, eco-/sustainable architecture, smart growth, Extreme Architecture
- money, money – crisis, bankruptcy, economic stagnation, vampiric capitalism, Crazy Rich Asians
- Everything Is Awesome?
- aesthetics of excess
- love-hate with globalization
- the Internet brain – stupidity vs. infobesity
- the game of thrones – Yes We Can, when I search “idiot,” The Breakfast Club rooftop dance
- 4th wave – HeForShe, #MeToo, #HimToo, backlash
- alone together – me-centrism vs. The (Social) Network, digital divide
Confirmed plenary speakers:
Prof. Andrea O’Reilly Herrera (University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, CO, USA)
Prof. Aneta Dybska (University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland)
Selected papers will be published in a special issue of Polish Journal for American Studies in 2021.
Titled abstracts of up to 250 words should be sent to exreyconference@gmail.com by 17 January 2020 (EXTENDED DEADLINE). All submissions must include a 100-word biographical statement.
The conference fee of 350PLN/80€ covers conference materials, coffee breaks, and a wine reception.
The last day of the conference will coincide with Lublin’s XIV Night of Culture (Noc Kultury), an annual city-wide cultural event attended by thousands of visitors. As part of the conference, all participants will be invited to join a special evening tour of the city center.
Conference venue: Plenary Room, Faculty of Humanities, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, Lublin, Poland