Deadline Past.....when did it become so late?

If you're just seeing this, and are interested, I suggest dropping a line and asking if they'll still accept an abstract. Apologies for the late posting.

Call for Papers: Postgraduate Humanities Colloquium, University of
Kent, Saturday 6th December 2008

Deadline Extended to 10th October 2008


Besechyng yow that ye audience therof not disdeigne
But consider the trew intent of my hert in euery veyne

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Raluca L. Radulescu, University of Bangor

The aim of this postgraduate interdisciplinary colloquium is to
explore the nature and character of audience to foster a greater
understanding and utilisation of strategies that can be employed to
construct audience in relation to Medieval and Early Modern studies.
Ultimately audience is a topic that unites rather than divides us.

Audience forms a vital consideration for all postgraduate students of
the Medieval and Early Modern Period embracing studies of literature,
history, art, architecture and artefacts. The evidence and sources
around which enquiries are centred, regardless of discipline, topic or
approach, be those sources, textual, visual or physical are created
with an intended audience in mind. This primary audience forms a
significant component that is inseparable from considerations of form
and function. There is also a second audience - that is the actual
audience. Yet inevitably both the intended audience, who often are
only a projection in the mind of the creator, and the actual audience
rarely leave us the information that we seek. Thus although an
appreciation of audience is encompassed in all relationships between
producer and recipient(s) this appreciation and anticipated
appreciation mostly has to be constructed afresh. Therefore, although
identifying the Medieval & Early Modern Audience secures the
foundation of our understanding of the period's culture paradoxically
this knowledge and awareness of the audience is frequently assumed
with the result that neither the intended or actual audience is
explored, clearly identified, or even alluded to.

Proposals for papers of strictly twenty minutes delivery are invited
for this friendly, relaxed day that is particularly targeted at novice
speakers. Suggested topics may include, but are not limited to:

The difficulties in identifying audience
Individual case studies
How important is the consideration of audience?

* Selected papers will be put forward for publication by Skepsi [the
peer reviewed, interdisciplinary, online journal of European Thought &
Theory in the Humanities & Social Sciences based in the University of
Kent.

Please send a 200-word abstract of your proposed paper by 10th October
2008 to Gaynor Bowman at gb212@kent.ac.uk and Julia Cruse at
jcc25@kent.ac.uk