[Englecturers] FYI: Postcolonial Meets Queer Theory (4/1/05; collection)

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From: owner-cfp at lists.sas.upenn.edu [mailto:owner-cfp at lists.sas.upenn.edu]
On Behalf Of Aydemir, M.
Sent: Tuesday, February 01, 2005 5:55 AM
To: cfp at english.upenn.edu
Subject: CFP: Postcolonial Meets Queer Theory (4/1/05; collection)


Call for Papers=20
INDISCRETIONS: AT THE INTERSECTION OF POSTCOLONIAL AND QUEER THEORY

Editor: Murat Aydemir
Book Series: Thamyris/Intersecting: Place, Sex, and 'Race'
Publisher: Rodopi (Amsterdam/New York)
Series Editor: Ernst van Alphen
Deadline for Proposals: April 1, 2005

Ross Chambers' analysis of the gay sexual "tourism" of Roland Barthes, =
both abroad and at home, stands as a challenge to those assuming that = the
epistemological and political projects of queer theory and = postcolonialism
are self-evidently governed by the same spirit, or = garner similar effects
(Loiterature, 1999, 250-69). According to = Chambers, Barthes'
anti-narratives of cruising, whether set in the = commercial district of
Saint-Germain-de-Pr=E8s in Paris or in Morocco, = studiously "forget" the
(post)colonial context that makes young Maghrebi = men available for the
writer's melancholic and desirous scrutiny. The = dreary and hapless
cruising detailed in "Soir=E9es de Paris" furnishes = an ongoing story that
has no point, that remains pointless; the generous = Moroccan sexuality of
"Incidents" delivers a series of pointed details = without a story. (Both
texts are part of the posthumously published = collection Incidents, 1992.)
The establishment of the urban everyday in = the former text and of the
exotic in the latter, Chambers argues, are = both conditional on the
foreclosure of the (post)colonial from bearing = on the practices and
expressions of gay male desire. Thus, Barthes' = cruising in Paris and
Morocco, Chambers concludes, requires "the double = forgetting of the
colonial." (258)

Chambers' analysis may be limited in that it concerns a specific (and =
perhaps specifically gay male) practice. But Chambers' reading can also = be
taken as exemplary in that it foregrounds a set of urgent questions. = Does
the study of queerness, lesbian, gay, or other, implicitly mandate = not
getting the (post)colonial point? Conversely, does (post)colonial =
expertise require one to miss the queer point? And, how can the two be =
productively and relevantly be recombined? Indiscretions: At the =
Intersection of Postcolonial and Queer Theory proposes to take to task =
both theoretical discourses in relation to each other, bearing in mind =
that that relationship may be intimate, mirroring, conflict-ridden, = and/or
mutually exclusive. As Chambers asks, "What = incidences-interactions,
intersections, intrications, mutual = interruptions-join them?" (251)

Such questions are especially pressing now that the exoticizing erotics =
that Barthes exemplifies seem largely superseded by the new islamophobia =
and racism of Europe (and The Netherlands in particular) that legitimize =
themselves precisely by citing the attitudes towards (homo-)sexuality of =
Islamic immigrants. At the same time, the institutionalization of queer =
theory and postcolonialism as separate areas of specialization has =
hampered academics in intervening intellectually and activistically in =
today's heady concatenation of sexual and cultural issues. The =
simultaneity of these developments forces a re-evaluation of the = pitfalls
and possibilities of postcolonial and queer politics in = relation to each
other.

With its social as well as semiotic connotations, the titular notion of =
"indiscretions" may serve as a productive pointer to access and organize =
the discussion. Also, it invites contributors to be less than discreet =
with their employment of the two bodies of theory at issue, intersecting =
the one with the other. Indiscretions advocates the close analysis of =
instances and aspects of culture in which
-- discretionary power, the social authority to tell the difference, =
renders discrete cultural and sexual identities, as well as in which = this
power is haunted or enchanted by a potential for density, for =
indiscretion, that eludes it;
-- cultural and sexual identities and practices become discrete or =
indiscrete in relation to each other;
-- postcolonial and queer theory can grasp, render discreet and legible, =
aspects of cultural and artistic texts, as well as of instances and =
aspects in which they fail to do so;
-- postcolonial and queer theory can render discrete and/or indiscrete =
aspects of each other.

Proposals for contributions to Indiscretions: At the Intersection of =
Postcolonial and Queer Theory may be submitted by email = (m.aydemir at uva.nl
<mailto:m.aydemir at uva.nl>) before April 1, 2005. = Include the proposal (600
words) in the body of the message. Use = "Indiscretions" as the subject
line. Please include a short c.v. The = deadline for the finished articles
(6,000-8,000 words) is September 1, = 2005. All acceptances are conditional
on the approval of the series = editor. For more information on the
Thamyris/Intersecting series, refer = to
www.rodopi.nl/senj.asp?SerieID=3DTHAMYRIS=20

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