*CFP* "INTERVENTIONS: NEW PERSPECTIVES ON POLITICS, FREEDOM, AND DEMOCRACY", 2ND ANNUAL CONFERENCE JOURNAL OF LANGUAGES, TEXTS AND SOCIETY

Interventions: New Perspectives on Politics, Freedom, and Democracy

The 2nd Annual Conference of the Journal of Languages, Texts and Society.

A collaboration between University of Leicester, University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University

Friday 10th May 2019 - Leicester, UK.

Keynote Address from Professor Robert Eaglestone, Royal Holloway

We are excited to announce the CfP for Interventions: New Perspectives on Politics, Freedom, and Democracy, to be held on the 10th May 2019 in Leicester. Interventions is an interdisciplinary conference in partnership with the Journal of Languages, Texts, and Society exploring the relationship between languages, literary forms, performance con/texts, and their socio-political contexts.

Recent political ruptures around the globe have led to uncertainty in the future of national state structures and their ability to represent twenty-first century public interests. Mass migration, uneven globalisation, climate change, and the rise of new technologies and marketplaces place pressure on Western democratic institutions and liberal societies to adapt. These shifts are also occurring in a period of declining public trust in political representatives and the corporate sector following the global financial crisis and recent Russian interference in the United States democratic process.

In Europe, the UK’s Brexit decision in 2016 reflected a widespread rejection of mainstream British politics and its metropolitan elite in favour of right-wing, populist ideologies. Similarly, in the United States, President Trump’s agenda of economic and populist nationalism marks a disconnection between democratic structures and notions of ‘freedom’. These socio-political contexts have had implications within the academy too, as universities have come under media attack for restricting students’ intellectual freedom. Earlier this year, universities across the country pledged to provide clearer rules to protect free speech and open debate on campuses, after former Universities Minister, Jo Johnson, claimed that universities were, "undermining the principle of free speech" (BBC, 2018).

In light of these changes, the second annual LTS conference aims to critically explore pertinent socio-political issues and their cultural representations. Papers of twenty minutes might include, but are not limited to:

• Post-truth politics 
• Neoliberalism and freedom 
• Democratic participation 
• Class and austerity politics 
• Globalisation, migration, and citizenship 
• Censorship, offense, and free speech 
• Autonomy and marginalised identities 
• Resistance and activism in the arts and humanities 
• Theoretical interventions with regard to freedom and democracy 
• Cultural responses to political events 
• Social media and social movements 
• Politics and the academe 
• Corporations, governments, and accountability 
• Politics and mental health 
• Technologies and democracy 
• Anti-semitism and Islamophobia

We invite submissions from scholars and creative practitioners working across the arts and humanities, including: English Literature, Language and Linguistics, Creative Writing, Politics, Sociology, Critical Theory, Cultural Studies, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Geography, History, and Film and Media Studies. Presentations other than traditional academic papers – e.g. short films, photography, artwork and readings – are especially welcome.

There will also be the opportunity to publish conference papers as articles in a special edition of the journal, please indicate on your proposal if you wish to be considered.

Papers and Creative Work

Individual papers and creative pieces should be twenty minutes in length. Please send an abstract of no more than 250 words to interventions2019@gmail.com

Panels

Panel presentations should be sixty minutes in length. Please send an abstract of no more than 800 words and scholar biographies of no more than 100 words per person to interventions2019@gmail.com. All male panels will not be accepted.

All abstracts must be submitted on or before Friday 1st February 2019. Decisions will be communicated by the end of February. If you have any access requirements, please email us and we will do our best to accommodate you. There is no fee charged for attending this conference. A small number of travel bursaries are available for postgraduate speakers on a competitive basis. Please briefly note on your abstract if you would like to be considered for this.