CFP: 'Reading Conflict' (postgrad) (19 April; 19 July 2010)

This might be a bit tenuous, but...: I can see room for comics-related work here, such as an essay that considers the form's text/image dichotomy (or is there one, hmmm?), perhaps drawing on the paragone in which Leonardo da Vinci participated. There, I've got your abstract 1/4 written - go for it!

Call For Papers
'Reading Conflict'
Postgraduate Conference
Institute of English Studies
Senate House, London
19 July 2010

The Open University will be holding a Postgraduate Day Conference titled 'Reading Conflict' at the Institute of English Studies, Senate House, London on Monday 19 July 2010. Sarah Brouillette (Carleton University) will be the keynote speaker. The conference organisers welcome papers from postgraduate students, especially those working in postcolonial studies and the history of the book.

Key themes include:

• Conflict and the Creative Voice
• Reading during Conflict
• Conflict and Publishing
• Conflict and the History of the Book
• Conflict and Travel Writing
• Conflict and the Canon
• Conflict between Literary Disciplines
• Conflict between Literary Genres
• Conflict within Postcolonial Studies
• Conflict, Empire and Postcolonialism

Proposals for individual papers (20 mins) or panels (60 mins) should be sent directly to the conference organiser, Ole Birk Laursen (O.B.Laursen [at] open.ac.uk), by Monday 19 April 2010. The Day Conference is intended specifically as a forum for Postgraduate students and early career scholars; do encourage your PhD students and postdoctoral research assistants to offer papers or to attend.