CFP: Periodicals as Cultural Assemblages: 13th Conference of the European Society for Periodical Research
CALL FOR PAPERS (CFP) 13th ESPRit Conference
Periodicals as Cultural Assemblages
The European Society for Periodical Research (ESPRit) is pleased to announce its 13th annual Conference, to be held at the University of Málaga on 3-5 September 2025.
This conference aims to look at the different ways in which periodicals can be considered as cultural assemblages across different periods, languages, and contexts. It welcomes a wide variety of perspectives on and approaches to the term “assemblage” in relation to periodicals and periodical studies. In Mille Plateaux (1980), Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari adopted the term “assemblage” to move beyond traditional notions of structure and hierarchy, and draw attention to the myriad connections, relations, and flows that make up reality. We welcome papers that similarly explore periodicals as complex, interconnected entities that are ultimately constituted by the elements, both material and cultural, that compose them. At the same time, we encourage submissions that approach the idea of studying periodicals as cultural assemblages from a range of theoretical perspectives, methodological frameworks, or disciplinary angles. By opening the term “assemblage” to multiple interpretations, we hope to foster a wide-ranging conversation on how periodicals operate as cultural objects and dynamic, heterogeneous formations in and across different historical, linguistic, and geographical settings.
We invite theoretical reflections, case studies, comparative analyses, and other contributions that consider periodicals as cultural assemblages from a wide range of disciplines, including philology and literary studies, media history, history of publishing and printing, comparative literature, cultural studies, gender studies, reception studies, visual studies, postcolonial and decolonial studies.
Proposals may focus on, but are not limited to, the following topics:
- periodicals as assemblages of forms, formats, and genres;
- periodicals as material constellations, and their digital transformations;
- the webs of relations in and between periodicals (e.g. serialization; miscellanies; issues, runs, editions; supplements);
- periodicals as multimodal texts and the relations between their visual and verbal components;
- the different elements that make up the materiality of periodicals (e.g. typography, paper quality) and their impact on reading experience and the dissemination of ideas;
- reassembling processes such as reprinting, scissors-and-paste, and translation;
- the networks of actors involved in the production, distribution, and consumption of periodicals (e.g. authors, editors, printers, newsagents, readers);
- periodicals as complex knowledge systems or discursive networks (cultural, political, medical, etc.);
- the periodical format and how it enables forms of cultural dissidence (e.g. with regard to race, gender, sexuality);
- the use of historical periodicals in contemporary assemblages (e.g. modern collages).
We welcome proposals from researchers at all career stages. Please submit your proposal to the organizing committee at esprit.assemblage@gmail.com by 21 February 2025.
Proposals may include 15-20 minute individual papers, panels of 3-4 speakers with a common (and named) theme, and roundtables consisting of 5-minute position statements from 4-6 speakers followed by discussion. Each proposal will include the title (also the overall title for a panel), an abstract of up to 300 words, including individual abstracts for each presentation within a panel, plus a short bio note. ESPRit aims for linguistic inclusiveness by welcoming multilingual presentations. The working languages of the conference are Spanish and English. All presentations should be accompanied by English slides of salient points (titles, quotes, main arguments).
Organising Committee: Sara Robles Ávila (University of Málaga), Rosario Arias (University of Málaga), María Magdalena Flores Quesada (University of Málaga), Manuel Hueso Vasallo (University of Málaga), Lola Artacho Martín (University of Málaga), Carmen González Román (University of Málaga), Alejandro Rojas Jiménez (University of Málaga), Antonio Calvo Maturana (University of Málaga).
Advisory Board: Niall Carson (University of Liverpool), Diana Esteba Ramos (University of Málaga), Livia García Aguiar (University of Málaga), Salvador Peláez Santamaría, Juan Antonio Perles Rochel (University of Málaga), Javier Calle Martín (University of Málaga), Jorge Leiva Rojo (University of Málaga), Miguel Ángel González Campos (University of Málaga), Ann Heilmann (Cardiff University), Patricia Pulham (University of Surrey), Mariaconcetta Costantini (G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara), Roxana Patras (Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi), Elena Liverani (IULM University), Ana Mancera (University of Sevilla), Victoriano Gaviño (University of Cádiz), María José García Folgado (University of Valencia), Marie Hèléne Maux (University of Strasbourg), Giuseppe Trovato (University Ca’ Foscari), Jin Seo Park (Hankuk University of Foreign Studies), Francisco Medina (University of Trieste), Carmen Galán (University of Extremadura), María Luisa Montero Curiel (University of Extremadura), Mar Campos Figares (University of Almería), María del Carmen Quiles (University of Almería), Eloy Martos Núñez (University of Extremadura), Aurora Martínez Ezquerro (University of La Rioja).
The conference is organised in conjunction with the project “Re-orienting Assemblage Theory in Anglophone Literature and Culture (RELY)”, grant PID2022-137881NB-I00, funded by MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033 and by “ERDF A way of making Europe” by the “European Union”.
Contact Information
Rosario Arias, University of Málaga
Sara Robles Ávila, University of Málaga
Nora Ramtke, Ruhr University Bochum