The Tunisian Association for English Language Studies (TAELS)
organizes its 9th International Conference on:
“Voices from the Margins”
November 22-23, 2024
Hammamet or Monastir (TBD) – Tunisia
CALL FOR PAPERS
In her 1988 referential essay “Can the Subaltern Speak?”, Gayatri Spivak offers a basic grounding in Subaltern Studies and related concepts of agency and empowerment through her intensive concern with redefining marginality. The recognition that the margin, a fluid concept, serves as an archive of untold stories has contributed to revitalise the issues associated with its representation in discourse and attracted increased interest in different disciplinary areas. It is within this scope that the international conference “Voices from the Margins” brings into the limelight the complex discourses of subalternity that have been historically crushed against the standardising pressure of dominant mainstream narratives. From the margin as “site of resistance, as location of radical openness and possibility” (hooks 1989) emerge voices that speak truth to power, resist conformity to the commonality of conventions and destabilise well-established norms. Putting at stake conventional understandings of history, culture, and identity, voices from the margins are engaged in their different domains to challenge hegemonic structures of power by offering alternative realities through fictional narratives, artistic productions or political manifestos. The struggle for visibility and empowerment is expressed through triumphant resistance of predominating ideologies, and resilience in the face of oppression, subordination, and marginalization. By giving prominence to voices from the periphery, the conference is meant to spark debate not only over social regularities that relegated individuals and groups to a status of marginality, but most importantly to the wish fulfilment of power and agency.
In this vein, “Voices from the Margins” aspires to explore the rewards and challenges of the margin and provide a platform for discussion aiming at granting space to the downgraded voices of marginalised communities and underrepresented minorities to erupt and disrupt time-honoured hierarchies. The conference is meant to be an occasion to celebrate the neglected chronicles of those who have been historically deprived of agency and denied access to power structures. More than ever, marginalised voices are cruising towards visibility and empowerment by resisting erasure, reclaiming agency and asserting their presence in political, ideological and discursive structures that often seek to nullify their existence. By giving vent to the aspirations of these voices, we are granted entry into the profound significance of narratives from the margins, recognizing their potential to shake the foundations of hegemonic discourse, contest metanarratives and redefine societal constructs where subordination, oppression and injustice reign supreme. These narratives stand as testaments to the persistent endeavours at dismantling cultural, psychological, and epistemic barriers that seek to categorise, delimit, and confine all those who do not conform to normative structures to the narrow limits of the periphery.
It is within this framework that the conference aims to bring researchers and academics together to critically engage with marginality-focused issues from multiple perspectives and diverse standpoints. The steering committee would like to share a global call and invite participants to submit individual and panel proposals related, but not limited, to the following topics:
- Rethinking marginality
- Voicing the subaltern
- Discourses on marginality
- Narratives of resistance and resilience
- Voice, agency and empowerment
- Legacies of violence, servitude and indentureship
- Vulnerability, exploitation and marginalised communities
- Racism and invisibility
- Gender and marginalisation
- Intersectionality and marginalities
- Discourses of madness and deviance
- Global media and marginalised voices
- Social media and marginality
- Marginalised cultures in the media
- Transnationalism, migration and refugee status
- Diaspora communities and marginality
- Corporeal and psychological marginalization
- Marginalised bodies
- Ablesim and disability
The conference is intended as an interdisciplinary event. Hence, we invite presentations from different academic disciplines such as history, sociology, philosophy, psychology, literary studies, linguistics and others. Different forms of presentations are encouraged, including case studies, theoretical investigations, problem-oriented arguments, and comparative analyses.
Submission
We welcome individual abstracts for 20-minute presentations and full panel proposals of four papers treating a similar theme or topic. Priority will be given to panel proposals. The conference is an on-site-only event.
Individual participants and panel convenors are invited to submit 300-word abstracts and short bio notes via one of the following links:
Link 1 (individual submissions): https://bit.ly/3m7d5Yq
Link 2 (panel submissions): https://bit.ly/3zZYyme
The deadline for abstract submission is July 15, 2024. Acceptance/rejection decisions will be sent by July 25, 2024.
TAELS editorial board will select a number of papers that will be published after peer-reviewing in a collective volume on the proceedings of the conference.
Registration
Presenters of accepted papers will be required to deposit a registration fee of 300 TND (300 Euros for international participants) before August 31, 2024.
The registration fees will cover:
- A full board-stay at the conference venue (one night for Tunisian participants – two nights for international participants).
- Two coffee breaks;
- Conference materials;
- Certificate of participation or attendance;
- Access to all conference sessions and workshops;
- Submission of the paper to peer-reviewing;
- Two hard copies of the conference proceedings after publication.
For attendance only, the registration fees will be as follows:
- One-day pass: 100 TND (100 Euros for international participants).
- Two-day pass: 150 TND (150 Euros for international participants)
- Two-day pass + accommodation: 300 TND (300 Euros for international participants.
For advice and more details about transportation and accommodation, please send your requests to saidi@univgb.tn
