CFP: Representations of ‘Nature’ in Nineteenth-century Art: the Ecological Paradigm

Call For Papers:

UAAC (Universities Art Association of Canada) Conference in Banff,

2017 Banff Centre, Banff, Alberta, Canada,

October 12-15, 2017.

Representations of ‘Nature’ in Nineteenth-century Art: the Ecological Paradigm

Chair: Joan E. Greer, Professor, Art & Design, University of Alberta, Canada

The word “oecology”, coined by the German zoologist and artist Ernst Haeckel in 1866, brought together the study of living organisms with their environments. As discussed by Greg Thomas in his chapter “The Ecological Paradigm” in Art and Ecology in Nineteenth Century France (2000), the term ‘nature’ was coming to be recognized as “an abstract concept defined by its difference from the human”. Recently, nineteenth-century representations of the natural world and its inhabitants have been the subject of renewed interest, with a range of art historical and cross-disciplinary theoretical writings including those dealing with the Anthropocene, Animal Studies, and the History of Science, informing these studies and exhibitions. This session welcomes papers that contribute to this discussion, including those that consider representations of natural environments, of non-human species within their environment (including in scientific imagery), and the relationship between the two.

Please send your paper proposal by Friday, May 12, directly to the Session Chair, Joan E. Greer, University of Alberta: jegreer@ualberta.ca

Submissions must include: the name and email address of the applicant; the applicant’s institutional affiliation and rank; the paper title; an abstract (300 words maximum); and a brief bio (150 words maximum).

Deadline for submissions: Friday, May 12, 2017

For complete UAAC program see http://www.uaac-aauc.com/en/conference