Failure is the New Black (Call For Papers)

A Call for Papers from Rachel Sullivan for the 2013 Midwest Interdisciplinary Graduate Conference (MIGC)

 
There’s much more to learn from the rough edges of failure than the short-lived sheen of success. Basking in the glow of achievement and accomplishment, other possibilities and voices tend to fade. What can we gain through studying the cracks, imperfections, embarrassments, and dark moments of history, culture, pedagogy, institutional practice, and lived experience? That’s exactly what the 2013 Midwest Interdisciplinary Graduate Conference (MIGC) aims to find out. MIGC will take place on February 15-16 at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee – it will be a lively two days of conversations and questions about the topic of failure. Who knows, some of the questions may even be answered!

As someone who’s been involved with the work of planning the conference for the last two years, I hope you’ll help me spread the word or—if you’re currently a grad student—consider submitting an abstract! MIGC is a wonderful experience that attracts participants from around the country (and the world!), and we’re excited to feature J. Jack Halberstam (author of The Queer Art of Failure) as this year’s keynote speaker. It’s a small, selective conference that allows for intimate discussions and a well-paced schedule of panels. There will also be a super-fun afterparty at a classic Milwaukee venue.

We’re looking for both creative works and traditional papers, and (as always) we welcome submissions from grad students at any level, in any discipline. You’ll find the full length CFP at http://themigc.com/cfp. Please note that the submission deadline is December 1!  Some possible topics might be:

- Failings of higher education

- Pedagogical success and failure

- Failure in film, TV, art, and literature

- Rhetoric of failure in theory and criticism

- Feminism and failure

- The “queer art” of failure

- Economic failure and debt crisis

- Failed states

- Digital technologies/humanities and failure

- Scientific advancements and failures

- Environmental disasters

- Legal failings, human rights, war, and genocide