From: Helen Terre Blanche (Conference Alerts)

Prison Writings Conference
26 to 28 September 2002, Vienna, Austria

This multi-faceted conference marks the launch of a new
project to promote and encourage the inter-disciplinary
and multi-disciplinary study of all aspects of prison
writings and the literature of incarceration and=20
confinement.

Imprisonment following conviction and detention without
trial occur in various forms in most societies across
the
world, sometimes sanctioned by the state itself,
sometimes used as a political strategy by military,
ideological, political or religious groups within a
state, or
by groups desirous of becoming a state. We welcome
contributions about the experience of incarceration from
prisoners, detainees, incarcerated asylum seekers,
political prisoners or those detained because of
nationalist, religious or other convictions.

The conference will explore literature about the
experience of imprisoning and imprisonment across the
entire range of perspectives, including historical,
fictional,
phenomenological, biographical and auto-biographical.
All genres and media will be considered, in order to
examine the widest possible range of representations,
past and contemporary, which communicate the
experience and nature of imprisonment.

We also invite contributions from agents concerned with
the delivery side of incarceration, including
correctional,
detention and prison staff of all ranks as well as those
who target and detain on behalf of groups working in
the name of a political, religious, or social cause.
Contributions would also be welcome from those involved
in providing amelioration to incarceration in one form
or
another, such as literacy, political education,
counseling,
religious instruction or support, and other forms of
service provision.

Reflections on the historical, political, social and
economic contexts which produce such literature will
also
be considered, as well as reflections on the ways in
which prisoners and detainees are treated, and the
implications and consequences of such treatment.

As well as written papers, workshop presentations,
reports, graphic and illustrative representations on the
above perspectives will all be welcome.

300 word abstracts should be submitted by email to
the=20
Joint Organizing Chairs (Dr Diana Medlicott,=20
didigrace01@hotmail.com and Dr Rob Fisher,=20
rf@inter-disciplinary.net) to arrive no later than
Friday=20
28th June 2002. Full draft papers should be submitted
by=20
Friday 30th August 2002.

The conference is sponsored by Inter-Disciplinary.Net
and Learning Solutions as part of the "Probing the
Boundaries" programmed, and aims to create working
"encounter" groups between people of differing
perspectives, disciplines, professions, and contexts.

The project is to be supported by an e-mail discussion
group, ISSN e-journal, and dedicated ISBN publication
series.

All papers accepted for and presented at the conference
will be published in an ISBN eBook (with CD Rom
support). Selected papers will be developed and
published in a themed hard copy volume.

For further details and information, please see
http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/pw1.htm or contact: Dr
Diana Medlicott, didigrace01@hotmail.com or Dr Rob=20
Fisher, rf@inter-disciplinary.net

E-mail enquiries: rf@inter-disciplinary.net

Website: http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/pw1.htm