Rituals of Exchange and States of Exception:
Continuity and Crisis in Politics and Economics
January 15-16, 2011
New York City
Whether they allow the circulation of ambassadors or of capital, exchange networks provide the basis for global cross-cultural relationships. Though liberal democratic governments pride themselves on the rationality of their procedures, diplomatic protocols and the give-and-take of parliamentary politics attest to complex customs that lie at the heart of such practices. Similarly, recent crises have demonstrated that international financial markets cannot be reduced to a numbers game, however complex, but function on the foundation of a network of promises whose dependability is a matter of habits. Focusing on the contemporary world, this conference will investigate the rituals and protocols that regulate political and economic relations in areas of stability and the underlying forces that come to the fore in periods of crisis. We encourage submissions of paper proposals from scholars in a variety of disciplines including critical theory, philosophy, literature, politics, theology, anthropology, political economy, and cultural studies.
Conference paper proposals with a 200-word abstract and a short CV due by August 1, 2010, to David Pan at dtpan@uci.edu. (Mark subject line as “Telos conference proposal.”)
Conference Registration Fee: $145, which includes lunch and dinner on January 15.
If you have any questions about the conference, please contact us at telospress@aol.com.
