The Société Française Shakespeare is dedicating its annual conference to “Shakespeare Unbound”. The topic addresses Shakespeare’s propensity to negotiate with dominant ideologies, his ability to break and renew formal and cultural rules and his long-lasting influence in creating innovative dramatic and poetic forms, new words and thoughts, “And all that faith creates or love desires, / Terrible, strange, sublime and beauteous shapes” (Shelley), Prometheus-like.

The conference topic also points to the ways in which Shakespeare’s work has come down to us: through bound Quartos and Folios, emended, truncated, annotated, as well as through unbound scripts and performances, “faithful” or “adapted”, many of which exceed the place of the stage, flowing down into the audience, out onto the streets, showing up on screens, in anime, graphic novels and narrative recreations and appropriations — contributing to the aesthetic liberation of drama, poetry, the visual arts, music, etc.

This conference will provide an occasion for academics, theatre, performance and arts practitioners to discuss Shakespeare and his contemporaries’ abilities to question and renew the boundaries of art.

We welcome proposals (in English or in French) on topics such as:

• The publication and editorial history of Shakespeare’s and his contemporaries’ works — in bound and unbound formats;
• Shakespeare’s and his contemporaries’ reappropriation of classical and early modern culture, Shakespeare’s “borrowed robes”, his contribution to liberating dramatic and poetic aesthetics, and ability to “beguile Nature of her custom”;
• Shakespeare adaptations and appropriations from the 17th to the 21st century which have contributed to liberating or rediscovering his work and/or influence.

Submission
Selected proceedings will be published in the Société Française Shakespeare’s peer-reviewed online journal: http://shakespeare.revues.org. Please send proposals by April 25, 2017 to contact@societefrancaiseshakespeare.org. Proposals should include a title, an abstract (750-word max.), and a short bio.

Contact Info:
French Shakespeare Society
contact@societefrancaiseshakespeare.org
URL: https://shakespeare.revues.org/3901