Political Literatures
Political Literatures is an interdisciplinary research network founded by academics based in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences in early 2020.
Political Literatures is an interdisciplinary research network founded by academics based in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences in early 2020. The steering committee consists of Vicky Angelaki (English), Samuel Edquist (History), Susan Foran (English), Anders E. Johansson (Comparative Literature), Sven Anders Johansson (Comparative Literature) and Biörn Tjällén (History). Since the inception of our network, we have instituted an annual symposium, which takes place on 16 June (Bloomsday), underlining the discursive and dialectical core on which our network is based. These symposia bring together academics conducting research in any area that falls within the remit of Political Literatures, broadly conceived.
We work across disciplinary lines with a commitment to collaboration and to the exploration of ideas that have a direct bearing to how we frame our discourses on topics of key significance to how we live in and engage with our world. We take an approach that is equally synchronic and diachronic; we treat the past, present, and future as a synergy and dynamic process, rather than as disconnected and entirely separate. The '-s' is important to us: "Political Literatures" signifies a plurality of narratives and ideas; proliferation and possibility. Further to our research-facing collaboration, we are committed to research-led teaching and pedagogical innovation, and are currently developing projects that we look forward to sharing in due course. The network is equally dedicated to fostering links within Sweden and beyond, and we are delighted to collaborate with academic partners across Europe. If you would like to hear more about our network, you are most welcome to get in touch! Symposium Calls: 2020 We are delighted to announce “Political Literatures", our first collaborative symposium, which will take place on 16 June 2020.The rationale is to probe what the "political" stands for and what it has the capacity to signify today in various textual forms. We aim to reflect the different ways in which the "political", in its manifold possibilities and iterations, informs our individual research and allows us to foster shared dialogues. We are interested in interdisciplinary perspectives, encouraging analyses that might identify any of the following as starting points: historiography, genres, ideologies, sources/archives, ethics, and/or any other related areas of enquiry. We are keen to interrogate the concept of "narrative", in the broadest sense, to include fictive as well as nonfictive texts and accounts that may be discussed from any chosen critical/theoretical/methodological or disciplinary perspective. We hope that this symposium will provide a forum for lively dialogue and an opportunity for further collaboration across subject areas. Future activities of our research network will also be geared towards such imperatives, and we will be delighted to share these in due course. Given the current global context of the pandemic, such discussions seem particularly urgent and meaningful. For this first event, therefore, and with a view to capturing shared concerns and emerging discourses while offering a forum for participation and exchange, we propose to concentrate on the following: Individual and community Mechanisms of inclusion and/or exclusion Organization / organizations Fear and politics / politics of fear Climate pathologies and their reversals 2021 For our second symposium on Bloomsday 2021 (16 June), we continued to pursue these thematic threads, specifically concentrating on the concept of dialogue (understood in either an abstract or a concrete sense) and inviting contributions from different disciplines in the Humanities and Social Sciences. Our third annual symposium is expected to take place on Bloomsday 2022. Political Literatures Course, Advanced/PhD: