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A Conference onTERROR(ISM) AND AESTHETICSUniversity of Szeged (Hungary), September 22−24, 2011Confirmed keynote speaker:Prof. Samuel Weber(Avalon Foundation Professor in the Humanities at Northwestern         University, Chicago-Evanston, IL, USA, and Co-Director of the         Paris Program in Critical Theory)Hosted by the Department of Comparative Literature at the         University of Szeged (in association with the Section of         Language and Literature of the Szeged Branch of the Hungarian         Academy of Sciences), the conference will focus on the         multifaceted and at times uncanny relation between the political         notion and discourse of terror(ism) and the tradition of         aesthetic thought from antiquity to the present.The prime goal of the conference is to provide new critical         perspectives and conceptual tools for the analysis of the         complex and controversial phenomenon called “terrorism” from the         direction of aesthetic theory, and thereby to displace the far         too militarized rendering of the issue. The insights of         historical and political studies, as well as the practical         demands of security politics are fully acknowledged. However, an         aesthetic approach might complement and critically enhance such         investigations and efforts. Aesthetics is to be understood here         in a broad sense, including theories of passion and affect, as         well as theories of rhetoric and mediation. The scope of the         conference will therefore not be limited to “artistic”         representation, but inversely, the “artifactuality” implicit in         all modes of representation will be rigorously considered.This implies, among others, an analysis of the diverse         theorizations of “terror” and of related concepts (catharsis,         sublime, sympathy, fear, distance etc.) in ancient poetical and         rhetorical discourse (Plato, Aristotle, Demetrius, Cicero,         Longinus etc.), in early modern aesthetic speculations (Hobbes,         Milton, Boileau, Le Brun, Diderot, Addison, Baillie, Burke,         Mendelssohn, Lessing, Kant, Schiller etc.), as well as in         19-20th century modernist theory and praxis (Jarry, Artaud,         Bataille, Blanchot, Newman, Hajas etc.). Contemporary critical         discourse, including acknowledged political experts (Jenkins,         Schmid, Laqueur etc.) as well as philosophers or theoreticians         (Derrida, Habermas, Baudrillard, Weber, Redfield etc.) will, of         course, also be involved in the discussions.Related issues could include, for instance:- politics of feeling (pathos, sympathy, telepathy, apathy)- terrorism as figural rhetoric (dissimulation)- terrorism as performative rhetoric (symbolic action)- poetics (verbal, visual, auditory, and performative modes of         terror)- theatricality and performance art- calculation (scripts, scenarios, effects)- the event and its mediation (or the event in and of mediation)- aesthetic distance, negative pleasure- danger and safety- networking (franchise, proliferation, metastasis), and its         relation to language- asymmetry (war/terrorism, conventional/unconventional warfare)- suicide and autoimmunity- movement in politics and art (the question of -isms)Other points of focus, including literary and artistic works as         well as individual analyses of specific critical notions or         texts, are also welcome.Proposals are invited for 20-minute presentations. The primary         language of the conference will be English, but proposals for         papers in German or French are also expected and will undergo         equal perusal. We envision the edited publication of the         conference proceedings in both electronic and printed format.         Proposals (with an abstract of max. 250 words, including name         and affiliation, as well as the indication of AV needs) are to         be sent via email to the chief organizer György Fogarasi         (fogarasi@hung.u-szeged.hu).Deadline for the submission of proposals: May 31, 2011. A notice         of acceptance will be sent out by June 15, 2011. No registration         fee will be required. All costs (travel, accommodation, and         other) shall however be covered by the participants.For information on travel and accommodation, or for program         details, please visit our website         (www.complit.u-szeged.hu/conference.php), or send a message to         terraesthconf@gmail.com.The Organizing Committee:György Fogarasi, PhD, Department of Comparative LiteratureJon Roberts, PhD, Department of American StudiesKatalin Kovács, PhD, Department of French StudiesErvin Török, PhD, Department of Visual Culture and Literary         TheoryZoltán Cora, Department of English StudiesStudent Assistants:Zoltán Gyulai, Katalin Pál, István Zoltán SzabóResponsable : György         FogarasiUrl de référence :http://www.complit.u-szeged.hu/conference.phpAdresse : Université de       SzegedDépartement de la Littérature ComparéeH-6722 Szeged, Egyetem       u. 2.