Aesthetics of collapse in the French-speaking world
Esthétique de l’effondrement dans le monde francophone
Published on Tuesday, December 12, 2023
Abstract
This is a call for contributions for a special issue of the Nordic Journal of Francophone Studies. After organizing a colloquium in 2021 on the contours of an aesthetics of collapse (some contributions have led to publication in the journal @Ecozon), the aim of this issue is to analyze the emergence of these discourses and texts in French-speaking areas. The languages accepted for article proposals are French and English.
Announcement
Arguments
In recent years, the French-speaking world has witnessed the emergence of discourses and texts dealing with the notion of collapse. Whether through recorded conferences, new media (the Thinkerview channel is one example) or texts (dystopian narratives or scientific texts based on the examination of facts), the idea that societies are facing catastrophes (species extinction, human overpopulation, climate change...) and that progress is not linear is gaining ground. Discourses of collapse circulate in various spheres of society: environmental, economic, religious, educational, cultural and political, and involve researchers, engineers, activists, writers and artists who fall within this framework by claiming an epistemological lucidity based on the depletion of resources. Literary texts also focus on predictive scenarios - often borrowing from the apocalyptic genre (Céline Minard, Thomas Reverdi, etc.) - and the new media select profiles of collapsologists who have worked on issues of energy resource depletion (Jean-Claude Jancovici, Philippe Bihouix...).
This issue of the Nordic Journal of Francophone Studies is dedicated to these contemporary discourses and the aesthetics they animate to capture perceptions of a form of decline. The following thematic axes may be explored in this issue:
1. The styles of collapse. Is there a particular francophone stylistic and discursive feature in the genesis of these discourses on collapse?2. Collapse ideology in the French-speaking world. What are the main arguments put forward and the objectives pursued in collapsologist discourse?3. Who and to whom is the collapse discourse addressed? Who takes charge of these discourses and to whom are they addressed? How have new media, writers, politicians and engineers taken up the subject?4. The origins and evolution of collapse discourse. The Club of Rome's report on the end of growth in the 1970s seems to be a starting point for the production of collapsology discourse. What cultural influences have shaped collapse discourse in the French-speaking world.
Deadlines
- Abstract proposal by March 31, 2024 to be sent to franorfon@su.se
- Responses for April 15, 2024
- Full paper proposals (June 30, 2024) to be sent to franorfon@su.se
- Feedback from the evaluations (September 1)
- Publication of the special issue in October-November 2024
References
- Afeissa, H.-S. (2014). La fin du monde et de l’humanité. Essai de généalogie du discours écologique. PUF.
- Beck, U. (1992). Risk Society: Towards a New Modernity. Sage Publications.
- Diamond, J. M. (2005). Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. Penguin Books.
- Bihouix, P. (2019). L'âge des low tech : Vers une civilisation techniquement soutenable. Seuil.
- Citton, Y. & Rasmi, J. (2020) Générations collapsonautes. Naviguer par temps d’effondrement. Seuil.
- Fressoz, J.-B. (2012) L’apocalypse joyeuse. Une histoire du risque technologique. Seuil.
- Hervé, D. (2019). Cataclysmes: Une histoire environnementale de l'humanité. La Découverte.
- Latouche, S. (2014). Le pari de la décroissance. Fayard.
- Princen, T. (2015). The Logic of Sufficiency. MIT Press.
- Rumpala, Y. (2019). "Politics of anxiety: Green governmentality and the ecological crisis." Environmental Politics, 28(2), 187-207.
- Servigne, P., & Stevens, R. (2015). Comment tout peut s'effondrer: Petit manuel de collapsologie à l'usage des générations présentes. Seuil.
Subjects
- Europe (Main category)
- Society > Ethnology, anthropology > Cultural anthropology
- Mind and language > Language > Literature
- Mind and language > Language
Places
- Stockholm, Kingdom of Sweden
Date(s)
- Sunday, March 31, 2024
Attached files
Keywords
- discours, collapse, littérature, francophone, styles de l'effondrement, esthétique,
Contact(s)
- Christophe Premat
courriel : christophe [dot] premat [at] su [dot] se
Reference Urls
Information source
- Christophe Premat
courriel : christophe [dot] premat [at] su [dot] se
License
This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.
To cite this announcement
« Aesthetics of collapse in the French-speaking world », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, https://doi.org/10.58079/1ccs
