Call for Papers for the 4th Volume of INTERSECTIONS: Literature, Culture and Technology
Noted Marxist scholar, Kohei Saito in his book, Karl Marx’s Ecosocialism: Capital, Nature and the Unfinished Critique of Political Economy (2018) rightly pointed out that the evolution of society is in close correlation to the trajectory of the progress of technology. Drawing upon the principle of thermodynamics, another notable Marxist scholar, Amy E. Wendling argued in Karl Marx on Technology and Alienation (2009), that purpose of labour had undergone a radical transformation following the progression of technology, allowing for a re-valuation of all material objects. Hence, the use of labour for harnessing natural resources, chiefly for the purpose of sustenance of human life, had been deeply altered by technology. For instance, in the present time, human labour is used either for assigning renewed value, or for the complete transformation of natural resources into materially profitable products. Additionally, the preponderant role of technology in our society seems to have divided the society into two categories -– the “technologically empowered” with their knowledge and skill to utilize modern technological marvels, and the “technologically challenged” with their lack of it.
Literary and cultural texts offer discursive spaces where dialogic connections between technology and socio-cultural constructs are created and recreated on various lines with the passage of time and the evolution of technology. Postmodernist texts and science fiction provide opportunities for transformation / re-orientation of the human body in close conjunction with technological advancements. Literary works have speculated that in the near future human bodies may not be entirely composed of organic matter, but could be formed of silicone, inorganic augmentations and simulations; or, perhaps, be replaced by entirely sentient automated lifeforms. Likewise, human relationships are also liable to be significantly shuffled in the near future, owing to the thumping march of technology in unpredictable directions. However, the most noteworthy discourse that emerges at the cross-sections of literature, culture and technological development, is phenomenological and meta-authorial. In other words, as authors transit from paper to computer screens, a new age of rapid production is ushered in that resonates with the spirit of fast-moving consumer goods, a hallmark of market capitalism. The explosive entry of AI-driven technologies onto the fields of literature and culture, is beginning to signal the death of the author, as technology itself comes to occupy the space of the author, and not be limited to as mere tools of writing.
It is at this cusp in time, that the next volume of Intersections: A Journal of Literary and Cultural Studies, of the Department of English, Kidderpore College, invites abstracts of no more than 350-400 words to examine the relationship between literature, culture, and technology within socio-cultural and literary contexts.
Articles may be related, but not necessarily limited to the following sub-themes:
- Responses to technological and scientific advancements
- Literature, Culture, and technological exploitation of nature and natural resources
- Literary and cultural experiments and new technologies
- Automatons, robots and cyborgs in Science Fiction
- Humans and AI-driven software like Siri, Google Assistant, Cortana, ChatGPT etc., in literary and cultural texts
- Cultural and Literary productions in the electronic and digital media
- Queer relationships and technology
- Speculative / Futuristic texts and technology
- Feminist critiques of technology
- Pre-print and post-print cultures
Interested contributors are requested to send abstracts of articles and book reviews of not more than 350 words along with 5 keywords.
Use the following Google form link to complete your submissions by 17th February, 2024. Submission link: https://forms.gle/PgREKoTgo71JWgYX7
Intersections is an online, double-blind peer-reviewed journal, usually published in the month of September. The journal provides a platform for the publication of quality research. The journal also wishes to publish articles that are interdisciplinary in scope, or related to issues which bear significant social or cultural impact.
We do not charge fees for the submission or publication of articles. Intersections does not receive any funding or sponsorship from any organisation or individual. For more details about our journal kindly use the following link: https://intersectionsonline.in/about/
For all other queries please email kceng.journal@intersectionsonline.in
