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March 25, 26 &#38; 27, 2010 at the University of Michigan, Ann Arborcrisis: &#160;turning point of a disease (XVth century); vital or decisive stage in events (XVIIth century) (From The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology )The term &#8220;crisis&#8221; itself is difficult to detach from current political and economic developments. The impetus of this conference is to discuss the rhetorical use (and/or abuse), of this word by examining how ideas of crisis and disasters have been thought and expressed through aesthetics, history and theory.How do we define &#8220;crisis&#8221;? What are the less explored contexts of this word that we can consider? How does crisis relate to disaster (if it does)? Through examinations of textual representations and textual manifestations of crisis, we seek to resuscitate the idea of crisis as a turning point that requires judgment and discernment and whose implications extend to: Culture, Identity, Sexuality, Politics, Economics, Nature, Ethics, Religion, Representations of Death and Life, History and its Constructions, Technology&#8230;**This list of topics is neither exhaustive nor restrictive!Submission Deadline: December 21st, 2009Submission Instructions: Presentations may be given in English, French, Italian, Portuguese or Spanish and should be related to Francophone, Hispanic, Lusophone or Italian cultures. Please send a 250-300 word abstract to fraker2010abstracts@ctools.umich.edu. Questions? Contact the Organizing Committee at fraker2010@umich.edu.