~ THE DEADLINE FOR PAPER SUBMISSIONS HAS PASSED ~

We are pleased to announce our open call for papers for the Fifth International Crossroads in Cultural Studies Conferenceto be held at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, from June 25-28, 2004. The theme of the conference is "Policing the Crisis."

The mandate of the conference is as follows:

We are living in a time of global uncertainty. What is happening in the world today lies outside "the realm of human understanding" (Roy, 2001, p. 32). Whether in foreign policy, education, the environment, or the economy, an Orwellian regime of misrepresentation and propaganda operates. The George W. Bush foreign policy tears at the conscience of concerned citizens everywhere. A politics of fear has offset a politics of hope.

In light of these uncertain and violent times, cultural studies scholars have a moral obligation to police this crisis, to speak to the death of people, culture and truth, and to undo the official pedagogies that circulate in the media. We must seek non-violent regimes of truth that honor culture, universal human rights, and the sacred. We must seek critical methodologies that protest, resist and help us represent and imagine radically free utopian spaces.

And so, too, must this Crossroads Conference—this international gathering of voices—seek a new politics of resistance and truth, a politics of opposition, a world-wide joining of hands in the "globalization of dissent" (Roy, 2001, p.33). "A new day has dawned, to be met by a humankind's refusal to allow men to any longer make and wage war in the name of vainglory, profit and corrupt political ideologies" (Sontag, 2003, p. 3).

It is up to the poets, writers, artists, and scholars in cultural studies to make sense of what is happening.

To remain silent is to be in collusion with this immoral political regime.

KEYNOTE & PLENARY ADDRESSES

At this time, we are pleased to announce that Lawrence Grossberg (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) and Meaghan Morris (Lingnan University, Hong Kong) will each give a keynote address. Further, plenary speakers confirmed at this time are: Bryant K. Alexander (California State University, Los Angeles), CL Cole(University of Illinois), Lauren Berlant (University of Chicago), Christopher Dunbar, Jr. (Michigan State University), Henry Giroux (Pennsylvania State University), Peter McLaren (University of California, Los Angeles), Toby Miller (New York University), Paula Saukko (University of Exeter, United Kingdom), Keyan G. Tomaselli (University of Natal, Durban, South Africa), and Mary E. Weems (Cleveland State University). We anticipate announcing more plenary speakers early next year.

SPOTLIGHT SESSIONS

Three Spotlight Sessions have also been commissioned to cover specific topics such as Africa in a Global World; War, Media & Democracy; and Sport & Cultural Studies. We will also have a Special Spotlight Session roundtable that reflects back on the landmark 1990 conference 'Cultural Studies Now and in the Future,' to be facilitated by that conference's organizers — Paula Treichler, Cary Nelson, and Lawrence Grossberg. Also scheduled is an interactive roundtable discussion on the various types of Cultural Studies methodologies currently in circulation, as we attempt to foster dialogue between and among these various sites of investigation.

CROSSROADS CONFERENCE HISTORY

The mission of the Crossroads conference is to provide an open forum for all topics that interest the diverse international cultural studies community; generate lively, critical debate about contemporary society; foster contacts and the exchange ideas; and, ultimately, draw inspiration from each other. We encourage international participation from different countries, disciplines and cultural backgrounds, as well as from a wide range of research areas. In that way, the conference will also show where Cultural Studies is going next. For information about the history of the Crossroads conferences visit http://www.cultstud.org.

If you have any further questions, contact us at info@crossroads2004.org.

Norman K. Denzin, Director

Fifth Annual Crossroads in Cultural Studies Conference
Institute of Communications Research
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
228 Gregory Hall, mc-463
810 S. Wright Street
Urbana, Illinois, USA   61801