Call for Papers

Lines of Flight: Improvisation, Hope and Refuge

June 23-25, 2017
The University of British Columbia
Vancouver, British Columbia

This year, we invite work that examines the relationships between improvisation and the politics of hope. In a world marked by social and cultural upheavals, what can the improvising arts contribute to hopeful forms of public mobilization? How do demonstrations, protests and marches build from spontaneity and contingency? How do theatrical, musical and artistic practices of improvisation intervene the politics of belonging or of responsible citizenship? Does improvisation provide means of escape or means of hopeful transformation? How do the improvisational arts address the refugee crisis? Can improvisation shape forms of social justice? How might listeners and practitioners become what Dave and Iola Brubeck presciently called “Real Ambassadors”? How can music, as Jayne Cortez once put it, call you to fly home “when you didn’t have / a home to fly to”?

Proposals no longer than 200 words should be submitted by e-mail on or before March 20, 2017 to Dr. Kevin McNeilly, IICSI Site Coordinator, Dept. of English, University of British Columbia: [email protected].

The International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation (IICSI) is a partnered research institute established in 2013. The Institute’s research team comprises 56 scholars from 19 different institutions. Funded for seven years by the SSHRC Partnership grant program, IICSI’s partners include six academic institutions (University of Guelph, McGill University, Memorial University of Newfoundland, University of Regina, University of British Columbia, University of California – Santa Barbara), a foundation partner (Musagetes), and over 30 community-based organizations.

Download the Lines of Flight: Improvisation, Hope And Refuge CFP as a PDF