Goldsmiths, University of London
28-29 July 2022
Keynote: Ana Parejo Vadillo (Birkbeck), 鈥楻ed is the Colour of Life鈥
Plenary: Martin O鈥橞rien (Queen Mary University of London), 鈥楿ntil the Last Breath is Breathed: Performing Queer Death鈥
Decadence has an uneasy relationship with the body. It is at once a site of profound sensorial pleasure, and a material trapping to be escaped through aesthetic or narcotic stimulation. Decadence is 鈥榦f鈥 the body 鈥 it augments its sensorial capabilities and cultivates uncommon tastes 鈥 but it also recognises the body as that which threatens to limit more refined and perfectly debauched pursuits of the imagination. This was the case in the late nineteenth century when different artistic movements were jostling for the limelight 鈥 naturalists, decadents and symbolists, especially 鈥 but it is also the case in our own time, which has seen a revival of 鈥榩leasure activism鈥 and unabashed aestheticism at the very same moment when afrofuturists, among others, have turned to the imaginative realm to escape the impact of systemic racism on visibly marked bodies. The recent publication of Ross Douthat鈥檚 The Decadent Society: How We Became the Victims of Our Own Success (2020) also suggests that decadence is once again entering popular discursive terrain in ways that mark a striking contrast with its non-conformist pedigree. Moreover, at the heart of a resurgent culture war, we find competing perspectives on the body: those bodies that are deemed suitably productive, useful, and appropriate in their tastes, dispositions and orientations, and those that are not.
What, then, are we to make of the decadent body both historically, and in the present moment? What makes a body 鈥榙ecadent鈥, and for whom? How has the body been shaped by accusations of decadence, and in what ways have individuals or groups reclaimed decadence as a site of reaction, resistance, transcendence, or disidentification?
Detail from , 鈥楧ecadent Bodies鈥 (2022).
Programme
Conference Eve: Wednesday 27 July
5.30 鈥 7.00 Screening of Jack Smith鈥檚 Flaming Creatures (1963), Richard Hoggart Building Cinema
Introduction by David Weir (Cooper Union), 鈥楧ecadent Bodies, Flaming Creatures: Jack Smith and the Baudelairean Cinema of the 1960s鈥.
CLICK HERE to download a PDF of the accompanying notes.
Thanks to the Filmmakers鈥 Co-operative, New York, NY, for making this screening possible.
Day 1: Thursday 28 July
9.15 Registration Weston Atrium
9.45 Welcome from the Decadence Research Centre LG02
10.00 Keynote Chair: Alice Cond茅 (Goldsmiths) LG02
Ana Parejo Vadillo (Birkbeck), 鈥楻ed is the Colour of Life鈥
11.00 Refreshments Weston Atrium
11.30 Panel A: Decadent bodies on display in popular performance Chair: Jane Desmarais (Goldsmiths) LG02
Veronica Isaac (University of Brighton), 鈥楢 鈥渄ecadent鈥 dalliance with desire?: The 鈥渋mmoral鈥 costume conventions shaping the bodies of late 19th century Principal Boys鈥
Kate Holmes (University of Exeter), 鈥楳aking a Sober Spectacle of His Body from Risky Display: Jules L茅otard in London鈥
Viv Gardner (University of Manchester), 鈥楧elight and decay: the spectatorial experience of the dancing body of the 5th Marquis of Anglesey (1875-1905)鈥
1.00 Lunch Delegates are encouraged to visit an exhibition of decadent artworks at their leisure (PSB Weston Atrium)
2.00 Parallel Panels B and C
Panel B: Spectrality, monstrosity, and degeneracy Chair: Isobel Hurst (Goldsmiths) LG02
Giovanni Bassi (LUM University), 鈥楢morous Bodies, Spectral Proxies: Photographic Portraits in Late-Nineteenth Century Poetry鈥
Jon Stone (Franklin & Marshall College), 鈥楥elebrating the Monster: Otherness in Zinovieva-Annibal鈥檚 The Tragic Menagerie鈥
Eleanor Keane (Goldsmiths), 鈥楧ecadent Bodies and Spectral Forms: Althea Gyles鈥檚 illustrations for Oscar Wilde鈥檚 鈥淭he Harlot鈥檚 House鈥 (1904)鈥
Panel C: Body parts and desire Chair: Robert Pruett-Vergara (Independent Scholar) LG01
Kate Hext (University of Exeter), 鈥楧ecadent Eyes鈥
Natasha Booth-Johnson (University of Birmingham), 鈥楨dith Simcox鈥檚 Queer Bodies鈥
Kate Foster (Institute of Modern Languages Research), 鈥楥lassically Decadent: Cyborgs, Statues and Gender in Monsieur V茅nus鈥
3.30 Tea Weston Atrium
4.00 Panel D: National and social bodies in decline Chair: Adam Alston (Goldsmiths) LG02
Melanie Hawthorne (Texas A&M University), 鈥極n the Eve of the Future鈥
Paula Alexandra Guimar茫es (University of Minho), 鈥楶icturing the Nation and the Poet as Decadent Bodies 鈥 A Fin-de-Si猫cle Portuguese Malady Diagnosed鈥
David Weir (Cooper Union), 鈥楾he Decadent Body Politic in Il gattopardo鈥
5.30 Drinks reception Weston Atrium
Day 2: Friday 29 July
9.30 Registration Weston Atrium
10.00 Parallel Panels E and F
Panel E: Decadence and domesticity Chair: Jon Stone (Franklin & Marshall College) LG01
Matthew Ingleby (Queen Mary University of London), 鈥樷淵ou ought to see the miserable rooms鈥nd you ought to see one of your tenants die鈥: Rental Snuff, circa 1895鈥
Sally Blackburn-Daniels (University of Liverpool and Open University), 鈥樷淗is red flesh their forbidden fruit鈥: Permeable Bodies in Hval鈥檚 Paradise Rot鈥
Ginevra Bianchini (Trinity College Dublin), 鈥楾he Decadence and Decay of the Body in Ottessa Moshfegh鈥檚 My Year of Rest and Relaxation鈥
Panel F: Decadent style Chair: Jessica Gossling (Goldsmiths) LG02
Robert Pruett-Vergara (Independent Scholar), 鈥楨ros at the End of Symbolism: Remy de Gourmont鈥檚 Le D茅sarroi鈥
Sam Kunkel (Independent Scholar), 鈥楾he Glorified Textual Body: Arthur Machen鈥檚 Theory of Style鈥
Victoria C. Roskams (Mansfield College), 鈥楧ecadence Redoubled: Reflecting the Musical Body in Stanley Makower鈥檚 The Mirror of Music (1895)鈥
11.30 Refreshments Weston Atrium
12.00 Panel G: Queer transmissions Chair: Robert Stilling (Florida State University) LG01
Amy Sailer (University of Utah), 鈥楥arl Phillips鈥檚 Decadent Pastoral鈥
William Rees (University of Exeter), 鈥楤e Yourself - Decadent Bodies on the 1970s Dancefloor鈥
Phoebe Patey-Ferguson (Rose Bruford),鈥樷淎nd She Went All the Way Up to the Elbow!鈥: Fisting as Decadent Contemporary Performance Practice鈥
1.30 Lunch Delegates are encouraged to visit an exhibition of decadent artworks at their leisure (PSB Weston Atrium)
2.30 Panel H: Landscapes of decadence and desire: Vernon Lee Chair: Sally Blackburn-Daniels (Open University) LG01
Anna Shane (University of Exeter), 鈥楾he Pursuit of Love and Knowledge: Vernon Lee鈥檚 gothic stories and the queer knowledges of collecting鈥
Louise Wenman-James (University of Surrey), 鈥樷淭hey can touch us like living creatures鈥: Decadent Landscapes in Vernon Lee鈥檚 travel writing鈥
Robert Stilling (Florida State University), 鈥楾he Addict as Saint: Decadent Bodies and the Post-Millennial Indian Novel in English鈥
4.00 Tea Weston Atrium
4.30 Plenary Chair: Jessica Gossling (Goldsmiths) LG01
Martin O鈥橞rien (Queen Mary University of London), 鈥楿ntil the Last Breath is Breathed: Performing Queer Death鈥
5.30 Close of conference
8.30 Decadence @ IKLECTIK performance night at IKLECTIK Art Lab, Waterloo
Live performances from Oozing Gloop, Sigi Moonlight and Hasard Le Sin
With Coco Deville as our esteemed host, film by Miss HerNia, & sounds by Gin
Location
Goldsmiths is located in New Cross, South East London.
It is a short walk from both New Cross Gate and New Cross stations (Zone 2) on the main rail network and London overground; about a 7 minute journey from London Bridge and 30 minutes from London Victoria. It is on bus routes 21, 36, 53, 136, 171, 172, 177, 225, 321, 343, 436, 453.
The conference will be held in the Professor Stuart Hall Building. Registration will be in the Weston Atrium.
For exact directions to Goldsmiths please see the page on the Goldsmiths website.
For directions to Decadence @ IKLECTIK (Old Paradise Yard, 20 Carlisle Lane, SE1 7LG) please see the page on IKLECTIK鈥檚 website.
Where to Stay
There are a number of hotels, B&Bs, and hostels convenient to Goldsmiths and New Cross at a range of prices:
- 0871 984 6508. For other Travelodge hotels in the area, .
- 0871 527 9208
- 0871 527 9480
- 020 7660 0682
- 020 8318 4321
- 020 8694 0793
- 208 691 7222
We strongly advise consulting the reviews of anywhere you consider before booking. If you need further assistance, please email drc@gold.ac.uk and we will do our best to help.
Contact Us
Please email drc@gold.ac.uk with any queries about Decadent Bodies.
To keep updated about all 新澳开奖 conferences, please join our mailing list.
Join the Mailing List 鈻
Conference Organisers
Adam Alston (Goldsmiths, University of London)
Alice Cond茅 (Goldsmiths, University of London)
Jessica Gossling (Goldsmiths, University of London)