CFP: Creative Assemblages

As one of the most important terms in Gilles Deleuze’s oeuvre, “assemblage” refers to the territory of an object along with its own regime of signs and pragmatic system. Yet assemblage also refers to the forces of deterritorialization underlying the structure which enable the formation of new connections. In other words, the Deleuzian assemblage is not only a territorial gesture, framing its own territory, but also a performative practice of carving out new routes of thinking. Most important, Deleuze and Guattari emphasize the epistemological sparks emanating from creative interventions in the continual process of territorialization, deterritorialization and reterritorialization of assemblages.

Assemblages are everywhere: human beings, as centers of indetermination, are assemblages of images, as Deleuze makes clear when he “assembles” the brain with the screen, the world with film, as elements of a philosophy of time. Even virtual assemblages on digital networks (email, facebook, twitter) in our quotidian life can be regarded as assemblages. Assemblages are also practical and political as well as  theoretical. In this light, to what extent can Deleuze’s philosophical thinking assist us in canvassing various prospective assemblages, and what is the retrospective assemblage between us and Deleuze? Is it possible for us to theorize the new informatics sensibilia by formulating the dispositif of the horizontal/ rhizomatic assemblages? And apart from the superficial/ superfluous assemblages, is it possible to build any vertical yet not arborescent assemblages?

Situating this concept in the contemporary world, we are seeking to form transdisciplinary assemblages in order to respond to and have dialogues with present predicaments.  Possible topics for papers may include but are not limited to:

1. Connections between Deleuze and Guattari's work;
2. Connections among all the different arts, including literature, film, music, architecture, etc.
3. Deleuze-Asian Assemblages;
4. Affect and Asian Aesthetics;
5. Image and Thought;
6. Deleuze and Gender;
7. Psychoanalysis and Schizoanalysis;
8. Creative Betrayal of Deleuze;
9. Pros and Cons of Deleuze;
10. Ecology with/without Guattari;
11. Digital Folds;
12. Translation as Expression.

If you are interested in presenting at this conference, submit panel proposals and/or individual abstracts (maximum 250 words) with your institutional affiliation and a short bio. The deadline for submission of abstracts for the conference is September 1, 2012. The conference registration fee is US$180 for regular attendees, US$150 for early birds, and US$110 for students. Registration includes a one-year discounted subscription to Deleuze Studies, refreshments and lunch each day.

The working language of the conference is English. For further inquiry, please contact Professor Hanping Chiu, the organizer, at [email protected], or the conference website: