School of Critical Studies

Rupture; divorce; severance; demarcation; limit; breach; rift; separation; distinction:  Division, in its many forms, has been a force shaping the world we live in since its very inception.

In the present day, contentious issues such as Brexit, the migration crisis, and the Trump presidency dominate current affairs, and have proven to be divisive on personal, national and international levels.

Whether our research responds to these conflicts directly or not, they shape the environment in which we produce our work, and frame the context in which it is received.

The College of Arts at the University of Glasgow invites proposals for the annual postgraduate conference on the theme of “DIVISIONS”. Adopting division as a broader thematic concern, we find concepts which coalesce around division structuring both the content and the form of our individual research projects.

We discover shifts in historical perspectives on our research material; gaps in methods and theory open up to find themselves resolved around contentious changes in academic study; changes in how research is constructed, disseminated, and received become part of the fabric of our work, and affect how we perform our research today.  

Reflecting the diverse, multidisciplinary body of work which emerges from the Arts and Humanities this conference seeks to enact a productive communal space of frank discussion, through which to encourage thoughtful and engaged interaction between our various disciplines, and around our varied ways of building knowledge.

How can we harness the creative and intellectual potential in the Arts and Humanities to help us understand the concept of division? How can we best foster interdisciplinary conversations which allow us to share with one another; where might these relationships take us as researchers and as individuals?  

Potential topics:

• Divisions and overcoming division as themes in the arts and literature
• Shifting historical perspectives on the concept of division
• Division as it relates to politics, religion, gender and social structures  Interdisciplinary work; negotiating division in research and methodologies
• Bridging material divisions; access and accessibility
• Hostility, conflict, borders and movement of people
• Resisting division and mending rifts beyond academia

Access & Safe Space Policy

All conference venues and facilities are wheelchair accessible.
Large print materials can be provided upon request.
In accordance with the University of Glasgow Equality and Diversity statement, the conference is committed to promoting and implementing equality and aims to provide an environment free from discrimination

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First published: 13 December 2018