KEVIN COPE'S 1997 ASECS ULTRA-MEGA-PANEL:
GUNG HO! FIGHT, BATTLE, AND CONFLICT SCENES IN ALL AVAILABLE DISCOURSES
No matter what their specialty, contemporary dix- huitie'mistes are almost always soft-hearted. A census of scholarly studies in all fields will show an amazing preference for homey portraiture, domestic novels, delicate dresses, symphonizing music, and contemplative philosophy over conflicted "history" paintings, picaresque naval engagements, military uniforms, mimetic sound effects, or calls to the defense of empire and justice. Clarissa's bedchamber strikes the modern fancy more than Uncle Toby's fortifications; Tiepolo's putti tickle us more than does the resolved visage of the Duke of Marlborough. The eighteenth-century culture consumer, however, took a rather different view. Scenes of combat, conquest, and conflict abound through all the arts and letters; even the whimsical Shaftesbury styles his philosophical sallies as miniature wars. Far from stressing repentance, reflection, or reparations, philosophers, scribblers, and dawbers of all stripes applauded military and pugilistic action of all types. This seminar will investigate the celebration of martial and similar arts and action in the context of such contemporary phenomena as the aesthetics of immediacy, the genre of panegyric, the cult of heroism, the exploration of alternative sexualities and bonding modes, the zest for the exotic and exciting, the culture of sensationalism, the emergence of journalism, the influence of patronage on painting, the simulation of battle in music, and so forth. If a good number of submissions are received, the "seminar" will be converted into a roundtable (brief remarks followed by discussion) so as to increase the level of participation and to imitate the chaotic form of battle. Participants will be encouraged to make due reference to both eighteenth-century and recent approaches to this lively topic.
Addresses for all communications:
Postal address until August 27:
Prof. Dr. Kevin L. Cope
Institut fuer Englische Philologie
Am Hubland, Uni-Wrzburg
D 97074 Wrzburg
Germany
Postal address after August 27:
Prof. Dr. Kevin L. Cope
Department of English
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
70803 U. S. A.
Eternal E-Mail Addresses:
72310.3204@compuserve.com or ENCOPE@LSUVM.SNCC.LSU.EDU
FAX until August 27:
011-49-931-888-4615
FAX after August 27:
504-388-4129
Telephone until August 27:
011-49-931-880-143.
Telephone after August 27:
504-766-2719
Parachute drops also accepted; please mark parachute or crate "to the attention of Prof. Dr. Kevin L. Cope," and remember to observe noise abatement procedures when flying low over the Cope compound.