C.L.R. James Beyond a Boundary. 50 Anniversary Conference.

University of Glasgow. Friday 10th and Saturday 11th May, 2013.

Confirmed keynote speakers: Mike Brearley (former England Test captain); Wai Chee Dimock (Yale); Robert A. Hill (UCLA and C.L.R. James Literary Executor).

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First call for papers.

C.L.R. James Beyond a Boundary. 50th Anniversary Conference. University of Glasgow. Friday 10th and Saturday 11th May, 2013.
Regularly cited as one of the great sports books of the twentieth century, C.L.R. James Beyond a Boundary (1963) is, by his own famous definition, about far more than cricket. Developing a concern to understand sport as part of a much wider social and political context (a concern first articulated in his earlier writings for the Glasgow Herald), James study is part-autobiography, part-historical study and partpolitical-call-to-arms written against the backdrop of the decolonisation struggles. His reflections thus reach out into a critical account of racism and imperialism, into wider questions of aesthetics and popular culture, and into the struggle for revolutionary social change which was the enduring concern of his life. Crucially, James insisted that such questions were not simply of concern to academics or to experts, but were also a central part of what drew ordinary men and women to sport. Much loved, and widely read, James study has also been the subject of searching criticism: he has been accused, among other things, of a failure of critical judgement in relation to crickets role in the moral framework of empire, of a lack of attentiveness to gendered inequalities, and of a nave faith in the spontaneity of popular political resistance. This conference is convened on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the publication of Beyond a Boundary, with the intention of both celebrating and questioning, drawing out the books intellectual legacies and identifying the issues it leaves unanswered. We would welcome original papers dealing with any aspects of Beyond a Boundary. These might include: - critical engagement with or reinterpretation of James arguments; - studies of the production and reception of the book itself; - interpretations, via James, of contemporary sport; - reflections on the transnational responses to James text; - discussion of Beyond a Boundary within James wider corpus and in relation to his political practice; - papers reporting on the use of James insights and methods in social research, in teaching, in journalism or in political activism. Abstracts of no more than 250 words should be sent to Andy Smith: andrew.smith.2@glasgow.ac.uk In keeping with James own practice, we would ask potential speakers to avoid unnecessary technical jargon, and to prepare papers intended for a general audience. Abstracts should be submitted by the end of October, 2012. Already confirmed keynote speakers for the conference are Mike Brearley (former England Test captain and previously President of the British Psychoanalytic Society), and Wai Chee Dimock (Department of English, Yale) and Robert A. Hill (History, UCLA and C.L.R. James Literary Executor).

Further keynotes to be announced; to be added to the conference mailing list, please e-mail the address given above.

Conference organisers: Dr. Dave Featherstone (Human Geography, Glasgow); Dr. Chris Gair (English Literature, Glasgow); Dr. Christian Hgsbjerg (History, Leeds Metropolitan); Dr. Andy Smith (Sociology, Glasgow).