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CFP: Ecocritical Entanglements: Flora and Fauna Across and Beyond Art History

Type: Calls For Papers [View all]
Posted by: University of California, Irvine
Deadline: Sun, January 12th, 2025

Call for Papers (Flyer & Poster)

2025 Visual Studies Annual Conference

Ecocritical Entanglements: Flora and Fauna Across and Beyond Art History

 

We are pleased to announce a call for papers for the upcoming graduate student conference, Ecocritical Entanglements: Flora and Fauna Across and Beyond Art History, to be held on April 18th, 2025, at the University of California, Irvine.

 

This one-day conference invites graduate students to explore the complex interrelations between flora, fauna, and the field of art history in hopes of bridging the too-often opposed disciplines of ecological sciences and historical studies. We aim to explore themes of ecocriticism, environmental justice, and the representation of plants and animals across historical and contemporary contexts. We are honored to host Dr. Alan C. Braddock, Ralph H. Wark Professor of Art History, Environmental Humanities, and American Studies at William and Mary University, as our keynote speaker. Dr. Braddock’s pioneering work on ecology, environmental justice, and animal studies in American art promises to enrich our discussions, and his tireless efforts to build institutional spaces and channels of communication for the purposes of developing an ecocritical art history serve as the basis for our conference’s effort to invite scholars from varying disciplines into the larger art historical discourse. 

 

Our goal is to foster interdisciplinary dialogue and illuminate the ways environmental concerns permeate art history across temporal and cultural boundaries. We welcome proposals concerning, but not limited to, the following:

 

The application of ecological frameworks to premodern and ancient art

The role of plants and animals in constructing visual and material cultures

Materialist analysis of art objects and the environmental implications thereof

Climate change, the Anthropocene, and the implications of anthropocentrism in art historical analysis

The environmental ethics of art practice, including land art, sustainability, and institutional critique

Interdisciplinary approaches bridging art history with biology, ecology, and environmental studies

The representation of organic matter from virus to microorganism

Technological experiments in contemporary art, such as artificial life, genetic engineering, and bio-art

 

We welcome submissions from graduate students at all stages of study and from any discipline, alongside postdocs and early career scholars. Please submit an abstract (300 words) along with a short scholarly bio (150 words) to ucivsannualconference@gmail.com by January 12th, 2025. Accepted presenters will be notified by January 17th. Selected presentations will be 15-20 minutes long, followed by a Q&A session.

 

Please contact us at ucivsannualconference@gmail.com for any additional questions. We look forward to receiving your proposals and to a productive day of discussion and collaboration.

Sincerely, 

Second-Year Graduate Students, Visual Studies Program 

 

University of California, Irvine

 

Posted on Thu, January 2nd, 2025
Expires on Sun, January 12th, 2025

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