Conference to Celebrate the 400 th Anniversary of the Publication of the First Book of Cervantes's Don Quijote de La Mancha
The concept of the frame has received much attention in recent years in such varied fields as linguistics, philosophy, cognitive science, art history, and literary studies. In spite of the numerous differences in terminology in these areas of study, a common notion emerges of framing as that which makes human signification possible. That is to say, there has to exist some kind of basic schemata before there can be any experience of communication, understanding, perception or identity. Although art history has often taken for granted the frames of paintings, Derrida has suggested that the very (im)possibility of an art work's meaning may hinge on its ambiguous relationship to its own frame. Cervantes' masterpiece contains many examples of the frame in literature, which Genette describes as the framing devices of paratexts: prefaces, introductions, mises en abyme, and frame-stories. The objective of the conference is to spotlight the myriad manifestations of framing in the Quijote . How does the protagonist's unique view of the world square with the basic schemata of agreements and conditions that govern so-called ordinary perception? What is the relation between the characters' traversing of narrative frames in Don Quijote and the deconstruction of framing in the visual arts? In what ways do the numerous episodes of ethnic or gender performance in the novel serve to problematize or subvert identities rigidly enframed by the conservative religious and political ideologies of Cervantes' world? In what literary, artistic or musical works constituting part of the legacy of the Quijote do we find possibilities of re-crossing the frame of Cervantes' text in ways that would enable us to read it anew? The celebration will include:- Images of the Quixote, a collection of books and prints from the Hispanic Society of America to be displayed in Brigham Young University¿s Museum of Art.- A manuscript and book exhibit in the Harold B. Lee Library Special CollectionsA performance of Fuente Ovejuna by the Brigham Young University Theater Department.- Guest speakers Marina Brownlee, Thomas Lathrop, Michael McGaha and Eduardo Urbina. Honorary Chair, Ed FriedmanSubmit abstracts by March 1, 2005