Call for Papers: The Art of Death and Dying Conference, University of Houston, October 25-27, 2012

Just received word of this promising looking upcoming conference entitled "The Art of Death and Dying;" calls for work are due May 1, and full details follow:

The Art of Death and Dying, University of Houston, October 25-27, 2012
http://artofdeathanddying.blogspot.com/

The University of Houston Libraries, in partnership with the Blaffer Art Museum, the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts, the Department for Hispanic Studies, the Honors College and School of Art, will host a three day symposium titled "The Art of Death and Dying" on October 25-27, 2012.

We welcome scholars in all disciplines to submit paper proposals on literary, visual, and performing arts topics related to death and dying. Topics of the symposium include, but are not limited to:

• Depictions or interpretations of death and dying in performing and visual arts
• Depictions of interpretations of death and dying in literature
• Depictions of death and dying in film, radio, and television
• Commemoration of the dead in art, architecture and performance
• Artifacts of death and dying as represented in archival or museum collections
• Artistic depictions of the after life
• Cultural death rituals
• Cultural expressions of mourning
• Death and dying in Latin American arts and culture
• Readings of original creative material on the subject
• Performances of original material on the subject
• Presentation of original visual material on the subject
• Memorial architecture
• Cemetery design
• Analysis of an artist's, architect's, performer's, filmmaker's or writer's work related to the subject

Proposals related to death in Latin American arts and visual culture are encouraged. The organizers will accept presentations in both Spanish and English.

Papers will be selected based upon the quality of the proposal (including merit of the topic, clarity of expression, and relevance to the conference theme), the proposal’s ability to provoke critical exchange and debate, and opportunities for interaction between participants that will enable attendees to engage in a truly interdisciplinary exchange of ideas and viewpoints.

Presenters will be afforded the opportunity for their symposium paper/presentation to be published in the Texas Digital Library.

Papers will be twenty minutes in length and will be followed by ten minutes of discussion. Abstracts of no more than 300 words should be submitted on the symposium website.

The deadline for submissions is May 1, 2012.

You can find more here. Thanks so much to friend and former boss Barbara Mathe for sending this along.

Image: Cimitero Monumentale di Milano, © Joanna Ebenstein; click on image to see much larger, more detailed version.