As a dramatist, Ibsen has to present his characters in dramatic settings and by means of dialogue. Hence, an important theme lies in how the Ibsenian self is created through dramatic devices and form. In his early and middle plays, there is an attempt to represent the character as a contestation between the self and the external framework of reference, which may be the state, government, church, or the family. However, in his later plays there is an effort to go inward to examine the self as an entity with complex inner workings. These efforts in re-charting the character as trajectories of the inner self have brought about new explorations of modern identity, such as gender identity, self consciousness, feminist awakening, sociopolitical orientations, religious definitions, spatial dimensions, and moral issues. Ibsenian forms of drama are thus developed based on modern conceptions of the self.
This conference also seeks to explore different representations and manifestations of the modern self in Ibsen’s plays, as well as how Ibsen’s conceptions of the new self have led to revolutions and transformations in modernist culture within and beyond the European context. It is worth mentioning that this emergence of the new individualist self has produced great social effects in non-European cultures, particularly in the transformation from collective to individualist identity.
Topics to be Addressed at the Conference
- Psychoanalytic interpretations of Ibsen’s plays and characters
- Ibsen’s strategies in linguistic constructions of the self
- Changing concepts of the self in Ibsen’s plays
- Dialogism in Ibsen’s plays and characterization
- Ideological issues and the subject in Ibsen
- Ibsen and the individual as a modern subject
- The Ibsenian self in dramatic structure and moral space
- Stage devices and gender relations in Ibsen
- The Ibsenian self in power relations
- Artistic depictions of the Self in Ibsen
- Modernism and the self in Ibsen
- Medical issues in the Ibsenian self
- Spatializations of the self
- Ibsen and the autobiographical subject
- Deception and the Ibsenian self
- Guilt/shame and the self in Ibsen
- Ibsen and Theatre of the Self
- Ibsen and World Literature of the Self
- Cross-cultural staging of the Ibsenian self
- Self and Asianization of Ibsen
- Filmic/artistic representations of the Ibsenian self
- Other related topics
Programme -
The main part of the conference will be conducted in Hong Kong
on November 19-21, with the possibility of an extension/excursion
to Guangzhou, China, on November 22-23.
Language of the Conference -
The conference will be conducted in English
Participants -
Scholars, critics, actors, stage directors, artists, filmmakers
Registration Fees -
US$120 (or HK$950)
Application/Selection Procedure
- Before 1 July 2008 -
Submit bio-data with a paper abstract of 200 words in English
(Papers that address theoretical issues with the critical analysis
of texts are especially welcome)
- Before 1 August 2008 -
Selected paper presenters will receive an invitation from the
conference organizer
- Before 1 September 2008 -
Submit full text of paper (5,000-8,000 words) to the conference organizer
Correspondence
Kwok-kan Tam
School of Arts & Social Sciences
The Open University of Hong Kong
Homantin, KowlooHong Kong SAR
China
Email: <kktam@ouhk.edu.hk>
Phone: (852)2768-5700 Fax: (852)2391-3184
Organizing Committee
Kwok-kan Tam (The Open University of Hong Kong)
Terry Siu Han Yip (Hong Kong Baptist University)
Liu Yan (Guangdong University of Foreign Studies)
Frode Helland (Center for Ibsen Studies, University of Oslo)
Knut Brynhildsvoll (Consultant)
Publication -
Papers selected from the conference will be reviewed for Publication in the book Ibsen and the Modern Self |
