A Call for Papers:
Dubliners Then, Dubliners Now
Remapping Twentieth Century Social Experience for Twenty-First Century Social Spaces
The Oakridge School – February 2013
Dubliners Then, Dubliners Now
Remapping Twentieth Century Social Experience for Twenty-First Century Social Spaces
The Oakridge School – February 2013
2014 will mark the official one hundred year anniversary of the complete publication of James Joyce’s classic collection of short stories, Dubliners. During this spring 2013, The Oakridge School will be hosting a colloquium that commemorates this momentous literary event. The Oakridge Upper School English department gladly invites students of the Southwest region to submit papers on the aforementioned topic to be selected for presentation at the future conference event. All papers must be typed in MLA format with no more than 1500 words. Papers should provide titles as well as the name of both the student and their respective school. The deadline for submissions will be November 15, 2012, and the conference will take place the morning of February 6th, 2013. Students accepted to present will be notified by the beginning of January 2013.
Theme:
James Joyce’s Dubliners has no “main character” except for the city of Dublin itself. The characters and their stories, therefore, make up a network of human experiences of both the young and the old with Dublin as their physical and emotional locus. The stories, taken together, are about characters thrown into a new kind of social space – the twentieth century cityscape – where those same characters paradoxically experience both excitement and disillusionment. Their new social space enables modern Dubliners to navigate new experiences, to perceive the world differently, to realize unknown desires, and to experience a newer, more distinct sense of emotional or material lack as well.
James Joyce’s Dubliners has no “main character” except for the city of Dublin itself. The characters and their stories, therefore, make up a network of human experiences of both the young and the old with Dublin as their physical and emotional locus. The stories, taken together, are about characters thrown into a new kind of social space – the twentieth century cityscape – where those same characters paradoxically experience both excitement and disillusionment. Their new social space enables modern Dubliners to navigate new experiences, to perceive the world differently, to realize unknown desires, and to experience a newer, more distinct sense of emotional or material lack as well.
Twenty-first century human experience proves to be just as exciting, new, and perhaps just as disconcerting as that encountered by Dubliners one hundred years ago. We too are individuals inhabiting new social spaces – the most significant being the digital landscape of the internet. Much of what Joyce captures when depicting characters’ desires, frustrations, and epiphanies can also be applied to our narratives of the here and now.
Topics: Students are encouraged to write papers that explore one of the following:
(1) How does place/social space impact character(s) in Joyce’s Dubliners? Optional: How do 21st century spaces/places do the same?
(2) How does a character ironically experience both more connectedness and more isolation in the world of Dubliners? Optional: Are there analogous kinds of experiences in 21st century spaces?
(3) Analyze a character’s experience (or characters’ experiences) of paralysis and confinement in Joyce’s Dubliners. Optional: Are there ways that such experiences can translate as true or applicable for our encounters in the 21st century?
(4) Explore Joyce’s notion of epiphany in his collection, Dubliners. Analyze a character’s experience of an epiphany. Optional: Explore the idea of experiencing epiphanies in our 21st century world – is it less possible or more possible now?
(5) Analyze a character’s quest for truth and clarity. Explore why such quests end with the experience of confusion and disillusionment. Optional: Is such a quest more or less difficult today in our social spaces?
(6) Explore the experience of reading Dubliners as a 21st century individual.
(7) Respond creatively by writing another story or perhaps completing a story (from Dubliners) whose narrative remains “incomplete”
(1) How does place/social space impact character(s) in Joyce’s Dubliners? Optional: How do 21st century spaces/places do the same?
(2) How does a character ironically experience both more connectedness and more isolation in the world of Dubliners? Optional: Are there analogous kinds of experiences in 21st century spaces?
(3) Analyze a character’s experience (or characters’ experiences) of paralysis and confinement in Joyce’s Dubliners. Optional: Are there ways that such experiences can translate as true or applicable for our encounters in the 21st century?
(4) Explore Joyce’s notion of epiphany in his collection, Dubliners. Analyze a character’s experience of an epiphany. Optional: Explore the idea of experiencing epiphanies in our 21st century world – is it less possible or more possible now?
(5) Analyze a character’s quest for truth and clarity. Explore why such quests end with the experience of confusion and disillusionment. Optional: Is such a quest more or less difficult today in our social spaces?
(6) Explore the experience of reading Dubliners as a 21st century individual.
(7) Respond creatively by writing another story or perhaps completing a story (from Dubliners) whose narrative remains “incomplete”
Contact Information:
Jared Colley, Upper School Teacher of The Oakridge School, will be coordinating all submissions and facilitating all procedures for evaluation. There is a committee that will select all submissions to be presented, and the committee is made up of faculty persons and administrators from the following schools: Fort Worth Country Day, Trinity Valley School, Southwest Christian School, The Hockaday School, St. Mark’s School, All Saints' Episcopal School of Fort Worth, and The Oakridge School. Please direct all questions and submissions to Jared Colley. The following avenues of communication are all acceptable:
Email: jcolley@theoakridgeschool.org
(attach submission as word document)
(attach submission as word document)
Mail: Jared Colley
Upper School Teacher
The Oakridge School
5900 West Pioneer Parkway
Arlington, TX 76013
Upper School Teacher
The Oakridge School
5900 West Pioneer Parkway
Arlington, TX 76013
Phone: (817) 451 – 4994 ext. 2710
(817) 863 – 2481
(817) 863 – 2481
Instructions for submission:
-All papers must be typed in Word document, double spaced, 12 point font, and be no more than 1500 words
-All papers must conform to the rules of MLA formatting
-All papers must provide a title, the author’s name, and the name of the author’s school
-All papers should be submitted digitally as an attached Word document and sent to Mr. Jared Colley at jcolley@theoakridgeschool.org
-If student does not receive confirmation for submission 48 hours after sending the attached email, please call 817.863.2481 and ask for Mr. Colley or call 817.451.4994 ext. 2710 to leave a voice message.
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