ATHE 2022 – ATDS Sessions
AMERICAN THEATRE AND DRAMA SOCIETY (ATDS) SESSIONS
ASSOCIATION FOR THEATRE IN HIGHER EDUCATION (ATHE) CONFERENCE
DETROIT MARRIOT, DETROIT, MI
JULY 28 – 31, 2022
ATHE 2022: REHEARSING THE POSSIBLE: PRACTICING REPARATIVE CREATIVITY
ATHE 2020 and ATHE 2021 showed us that remote engagement offers positive and challenging possibilities for our conference community. The 2022 conference will reconvene in person in Detroit, and also marks ATDS’s 35thanniversary. In this landmark year, ATDS invites individual paper abstracts and full session proposals that celebrate and critique the past, present, and future of theatre and performance scholarship across the Americas, broadly conceived. What creative and scholarly advances have occurred over the past 35 years that have challenged and shaped the discourse of the field? We ask that submissions particularly decenter whiteness and hetero-cis-patriarchy that either amplify minoritarian knowledge production or explicitly analyze the power dynamics in normative/dominant case studies. How can the concept of “reparative creativity,” as defined by Dorinne Kondo, be used to speak truth to power about the structures that continue to oppress people of the global majority within theatre spaces and educational systems in the Americas today? What can theatre practice, history, and scholarship tell us about the relationships between performance and power structures in the ongoing wake of the pandemic, Black Lives Matter, and #WeSeeYouWAT? How can theatre techniques and methodologies be used beyond theatre, as theatre for reparative ends that works towards goals such as prison abolition or Black reparations in the Americas? What methods are necessary to make real strides towards equity for BIPOC theatre artists and academics within institutions ranging from ATDS and ATHE to colleges, universities, and theatre companies? And how does Detroit’s own multifaceted history, as highlighted by Damani J. Partridge’s work on decolonizing Detroit, help us (re)frame these important questions? Papers and panel submissions are welcome from all colleagues. ATDS members are especially encouraged to submit. We also welcome opportunities to co-sponsor session proposals with other focus groups. To learn more about membership benefits, please visit the ATDS website: www.atds.org.
The Fine Print: Additional Proposal Submission Information:
Individual paper proposals should be submitted to ATDS Conference Planner, Bess Rowen (bess.rowen@gmail.com), who will group submissions into cohesive panels for consideration by ATHE. Individual proposals must be submitted to Bess Rowen by OCTOBER 15, 2021. Proposals should include an abstract of 250 words, a paper title, a short bio, and contact information including phone number and email. Please specify any A/V needs. ATHE does not accept individual paper submissions, so DO NOT submit your individual proposal on the ATHE website. Individuals wishing to identify colleagues to create panels prior to the November 1st deadline should use the ATDS listserv:
ATDS@LISTSERV.COFC.EDU or the new ATDS focus group page on the ATHE website: www.athe.org/group/ATDS to circulate questions or possible panel topics.
Completed panel proposals (with all panel members assembled) must be submitted directly to ATHE (www.athe.org) by NOVEMBER 1, 2021. Please forward a copy of your completed proposal to Bess Rowen (bess.rowen@gmail.com). Unlike multidisciplinary sessions, single focus group panel proposals do not require focus group approval before submission. Include all requests for A/V, guest passes, or conference grants when you submit your panel proposal. ATHE permits two conference presentations per participant.
Multidisciplinary session proposals must be sponsored by a minimum of two (2) ATHE Focus Groups and/or Committees. It is your responsibility to contact each Focus Group Conference Planner or Committee Chair prior to the submission deadline to gain approval of all sponsoring Focus Groups and/or Committees. For contact information and additional details on proposal submissions visit ATHE’s website: www.athe.org and click on the “Conference” tab.