Sources: Philip Nel, 785-532-2165, philnel@k-state.edu; and
Greg Eiselein, 785-532-0986, eiselei@k-state.edu .
http://www.k-state.edu/media/mediaguide/bios/nelbio.html
http://www.k-state.edu/media/mediaguide/bios/eiseleinbio.html
News release prepared by: Jessica Grant, 785-532-6415, jgrant@k-state.edu
Monday, Feb. 18, 2008
K-STATE'S DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH TO HOST ANNUAL CULTURAL STUDIES CONFERENCE
MANHATTAN -- Life is anything but black and white, and Kansas State University's department of English plans to explore the gray.
K-State's 17th annual Cultural Studies Conference, "Extremism and the Excluded Middle," will be March 6-8 at the K-State Student Union.
The conference, which will feature dozens of presentations, will explore some of the texts, cultures, and subcultures that represent extremism in politics, literature, science, social issues and popular culture, and consider the differing ways that these binaries manifest themselves. A myriad of topics will be presented upon, including extreme sports, gonzo journalism and/or literary genre blurring, the debates surrounding the right to life and/or the right to die and the middle -- middle class, middle earth, middle age, moderation, midway(s), middle-brow literatures and cultures.
"The conference addresses the central issue of our time," said Phil Nel, K-State associate professor of English and director of the children's literature program. "We live in a world polarized by extremism of many kinds, and, in order to survive as a nation and as a planet, we need to find some common ground. The conference approaches the subject from a variety of angles, including gender difference, politics and religion."
"Why is our culture so drawn to either/or thinking it has to be either this way or that way, when most of us know from our individual daily experiences that life is complex and varied and that solutions to most problems are rarely either one extreme "or" its opposite?" said Gregory Eiselein, professor and director of graduate studies in the department of English. "The conference should be an outstanding opportunity to reflect on this and similar questions about the popular appeal of extremisms."
The conference's keynote speaker will be Anne Fausto-Sterling, a professor of biology and gender studies in the department of molecular and cell biology and biochemistry at Brown University. Additionally, Fausto-Sterling is the chair of the faulty committee on science and technology studies at Brown.
Fausto-Sterling has written on developmental genetics and developmental ecology, and most recently has worked to apply dynamic systems theory to the study of human development. Her work examines sex differences in bone development and the emergence of gender difference in behavior in early childhood. She is the author of "Sexing the Body: Gender Politics and the Construction of Sexuality" and "Myths of Gender: Biological Theories About Women and Men." She will discuss "Not your grandmother's biology: toward a new science of sex, desire and race," at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 7, in the Little Theater at the K-State Student Union. The talk is free and open to the public.
The conference, which is the longest-running annual cultural studies conference in the nation, also will feature a reading by Native American sapphic poet Chrystos. The author of "Fire Power" and "Fugitive Colors," her reading will be at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 6, in the Little Theater.
The conference is free for K-State undergraduates; registration is $30 for K-State faculty, staff, graduate students and alumni. For those not affiliated with the university, registration is $60. Registration will be available on the second floor of the Union and will be from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. March 6 and 7, and from 9-10:30 a.m. March 8.
More information on the conference, including a schedule of presentations is available online at:
http://www.k-state.edu/english/symposium/