Ohio State nav bar

8th Annual GGSA Conference: Between Utopia and Dystopia

GGSA 8th annual conference
April 1 - April 2, 2016
2:00PM - 4:30PM
Mershon Center for International Security Studies, 1501 Neil Ave.

Date Range
Add to Calendar 2016-04-01 14:00:00 2016-04-02 16:30:00 8th Annual GGSA Conference: Between Utopia and Dystopia Between Utopia and Dystopia: Visions of GermanyKeynote Speaker: Phillip Wegner (University of Florida)Plenary Speaker: Alex Holznienekemper (Baylor University)Coined by Sir Thomas More in 1516, the word ― "utopia" — an amalgam of the ancient Greek οὐ (not), τόπος (place) and the classical Latin suffix – ia — describes, in its eponymous work, an imaginary island with a perfect social, legal, and political system. Despite the island’s perfection, More’s work leaves open the question of whether this non-place is truly ideal.How is Germany’s identity imagined, both from inside and outside its borders, as a utopia or as its negation, a dystopia? At the same time, how does the notion of utopia help us understand German writers’ and artists’ visions of places beyond their country’s borders? The questionable aspects of utopia may also become visible in cultural contact, contact that prompts alterations of experiences, practices, and worldviews.Theories of utopia have not been limited to politics, but incorporate ecological, economic, religious, and philosophical discourses. At our conference, we seek to gather perspectives from various fields of study to investigate the possibilities, limitations, and implications that arise when conceptualizing an ideal world.Friday, April 1st2:00 Light Refreshments2:15 Opening Remarks2:30 – 5:15 Panels 1 & 26:00 Plenary Address - Dr. Alex Holznienkemper (Baylor U)        Articulating Utopia - Literature's Cognitive CapacitySaturday, April 2nd9:30 Coffee and breakfast10:15 – 2:15 Panels 3 & 42:30 Keynote Speaker - Dr. Phillip Wegner (U of Florida)        I was once cook at the Cafe Anglais: Forms of Utopia in Isak Dinesen's "Babette's Feast"4:00 Closing Remarks - Professor Katra Byram (Ohio State)Find usThe Mershon Center is located on the south end of the Ohio State campus at the corner of Neil and 8th avenues.Find this location on The Ohio State University campus map.ParkingFaculty, staff and students with an Ohio State parking pass may park in the appropriate spots in any of the campus parking lots or garages.  There is a small lot off Pennsylvania Avenue behind the Mershon Center. The closest parking garage is the 9th Avenue West Garage.Off-campus visitors may use one of a few meters in the small lot off Pennsylvania Avenue behind the Mershon Center, or more reliable paid parking can be found in the Safe Auto Hospitals Garage near the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center at 185 Westpark Street. Mershon Center for International Security Studies, 1501 Neil Ave. Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures germanic@osu.edu America/New_York public

Between Utopia and Dystopia: Visions of Germany

Keynote Speaker: Phillip Wegner (University of Florida)

Plenary Speaker: Alex Holznienekemper (Baylor University)

Coined by Sir Thomas More in 1516, the word ― "utopia" — an amalgam of the ancient Greek οὐ (not), τόπος (place) and the classical Latin suffix – ia — describes, in its eponymous work, an imaginary island with a perfect social, legal, and political system. Despite the island’s perfection, More’s work leaves open the question of whether this non-place is truly ideal.

How is Germany’s identity imagined, both from inside and outside its borders, as a utopia or as its negation, a dystopia? At the same time, how does the notion of utopia help us understand German writers’ and artists’ visions of places beyond their country’s borders? The questionable aspects of utopia may also become visible in cultural contact, contact that prompts alterations of experiences, practices, and worldviews.

Theories of utopia have not been limited to politics, but incorporate ecological, economic, religious, and philosophical discourses. At our conference, we seek to gather perspectives from various fields of study to investigate the possibilities, limitations, and implications that arise when conceptualizing an ideal world.

Friday, April 1st

2:00 Light Refreshments

2:15 Opening Remarks

2:30 – 5:15 Panels 1 & 2

6:00 Plenary Address - Dr. Alex Holznienkemper (Baylor U)
        Articulating Utopia - Literature's Cognitive Capacity

Saturday, April 2nd

9:30 Coffee and breakfast

10:15 – 2:15 Panels 3 & 4

2:30 Keynote Speaker - Dr. Phillip Wegner (U of Florida)
        I was once cook at the Cafe Anglais: Forms of Utopia in Isak Dinesen's "Babette's Feast"

4:00 Closing Remarks - Professor Katra Byram (Ohio State)

Find us
The Mershon Center is located on the south end of the Ohio State campus at the corner of Neil and 8th avenues.
Find this location on The Ohio State University campus map.

Parking
Faculty, staff and students with an Ohio State parking pass may park in the appropriate spots in any of the campus parking lots or garages.  There is a small lot off Pennsylvania Avenue behind the Mershon Center. The closest parking garage is the 9th Avenue West Garage.

Off-campus visitors may use one of a few meters in the small lot off Pennsylvania Avenue behind the Mershon Center, or more reliable paid parking can be found in the Safe Auto Hospitals Garage near the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center at 185 Westpark Street.