The Graduate Students in English student organization has extended the deadline for submitting a proposal to its Spring 2022 Interdisciplinary Conference to Feb. 20. The conference will take place on Friday and Saturday, April 1-2, and is open to both graduate and undergraduate students.

See the conference CFP below for our theme. Please submit presentation proposals to this Microsoft Form no later than Sunday, Feb. 20.  

Aberrations, Deviations and Mutations  

"Reality is infinitely diverse, compared with even the subtlest conclusions of abstract thought and does not allow of clear-cut and sweeping distinctions. Reality resists classification." — Fyodor Dostoevsky 

"(N)ot everything fits easily into our systems of classification. The world might be, it turns out, too complicated for us to know." — Helen Macdonald 

In this current moment that resists classification, the 2022 GSE conference is interested in talking about things that refuse to be classified, things that mutate excessively or deviate from the norm, topics that have been categorized as transgressive. We welcome presentation proposals that address the conference theme in a variety of disciplines, including (as a start, but not limited to):  

• Scientific explorations of typical and atypical nature  

• Historical monstrosities or mutations  

• Changing understandings of major concepts in various disciplines 

• Adaptive trends in communication or teaching/education 

• Monstrous environments (and monstrous effects upon environments)  

• Humanity as a contrast to monstrosity  

• Representations of gender as deviant or dangerous  

• Explorations of historical and/or representational depictions of race as monstrous (i.e. Get Out (2017)  

• Representations of monstrosity or mutations in literature, art, theater and other media 

• Fictional, artistic, theatrical and/or creative nonfiction performances that explore monstrosity and/or adaptation

The conference also welcomes presentation topics from all disciplines that may "deviate" from the 2022 theme.  

Due to concerns for the health of all participants, the 2022 conference will be conducted virtually.

Questions may be addressed to Michel LaCrue (she/her), mclacrue@uark.edu.