Symposium Structure.
In addition to traditional conference paper presentations, we are planning for a variety of modes of engagement including roundtables, dialogues, and contemplative Q&A periods which involve intentional periods of silence to support listeners in processing information and posing thoughtful and urgent questions.
Leading up to the convening of “Then You Don’t Want Me,” organizers will circulate weekly writing prompts to encourage free writing, spontaneous thinking, and meditation on the themes and questions of the symposium before we meet one another.
This convening also places value on genre-bending modes of thinking and writing and takes particular inspiration from the “bocados” mode of engagement, pioneered by the “viscerality” issues of GLQ, which encouraged short-form deep-dive (small, tasty), creatively multi-genre reflections in response to an organizing theme. As such, day two of the program includes a “lightning talk” panel which will be an open all attendees to share 5 minutes or less of extemporaneous writing and reflection without advanced sign-up. This format encourages spontaneous decisions to share.