Interdisciplinary Symposium: Decolonial Imaginaries in Literary and Urban Studies

Collaborative, interdisciplinary two-day symposium at the University of Basel

The collaborative, interdisciplinary two-day symposium “Decolonial Imaginaries in Literary and Urban Studies” will bring together urban and literary scholars in an open, exploratory discussion structured around ongoing projects and methodological workshops. Rather than providing universal answers and definitions, the symposium proposes the following questions targeting current research in the fields of Literary and Urban Studies: Since cities are at the same time material and imagined territories or “built thought” (Sandercock 4), how can the imaginary of urban dwellers be mobilized to challenge ongoing colonialities of power? To what extent is the decolonial imaginary – following Emma Pérez – “a political project” (4), “that time lag between the colonial and postcolonial, that interstitial space where differential politics and social dilemmas are negotiated” (6)?

In this symposium, participants will have the opportunity to attend two keynote lectures by Catalina Ortiz and Dominic Davies, working on the intersections of various artistic and literary forms, and on architecture and infrastructure in community-oriented research, while employing decolonizing practices. Attendees will also learn about new research in panel discussions and engage with methodologies used in both fields in collaborative practical workshops, exploring the relationship between practice and imaginaries across and beyond the disciplines. Finally, participants will attend a discussion between the keynote speakers and the critically acclaimed writer Ana Filomena Amaral about her novel Chasing Walls.

For the interdisciplinary panels, we invite 15-minute paper contributions in Literary and Urban Studies that illustrate the methodologies and approaches of both disciplines.

Please submit abstracts of 200-250 words, as well as a short bionote, by 1 September 2023 to the conference organizers at decolonial-imaginaries@unibas.ch.

Attendees without a paper need to register via email by 15 September. Please also include a short bionote and a brief explanation of your interest in the symposium.

As spaces are limited, we will confirm your registrations by the end of September. In your registration, please indicate if you have any dietary requirements.

For full information on the symposium, please find the complete flyer through the link below.

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