Tantalizing, alluring and dangerous all at once, the erotic is one of the many great mysteries of the human experience. It crosses racial, ethnic, social, socio-economic, political, educational and age-related boundaries. It causes intense joy and excruciating pain. And it motivates demonstrations of both love and madness, and everything in between. Fragments of letters between long-separated lovers… carved phalluses and voluptuous stone goddesses… music that makes our hearts yearn for something we cannot name… desire and passion that courses through us at the mention of another… all of this and more informs our lives, shapes our perceptions, and guides our relationships. The erotic unites, highlights, undermines and subverts; it stands at the heart of (sexual) relationships, orientations, acts and behaviours; and it remains a compelling force even as it is often seen as socially taboo and sometimes associated with fear and shame.

Grappling with ‘the erotic’ is often difficult. We are often paralyzed by the force of it, afraid of it, conditioned by society to ignore or downplay it, and yet we have a curious and fascinating range of relationships with it. Perhaps the erotic is a yearning toward connection, toward touch, toward a symbiosis of some kind. Do we all wish, consciously or unconsciously, to connect with the erotic? Are we drawn toward it? Could the erotic be considered a bridge between people, between us and them, between you and me? Is it the only true connection, underlying everything else, or is it an overlying dynamic?

Building on the dialogues from our first project meeting in 2018, which focused on The Joys of the Erotic, our second project meeting will provide a space for exploring eroticism through interdisciplinary approaches with a view to forming a publication to engender further research and collaboration. These approaches recognise eroticism as the meeting point of intimacy, sensuality, arousal, sexuality, longing and desire; an interface between aesthetics, form, taste, art; a driver of photography, visual imagery and tactile textures; a component of music, performance, dance and fluidity; the object of fashion, design, marketing and social mass appeal; a unique avenue for ethical, political, social, economic, cultural, psychological, and philosophical insights and perspectives.

Key topics, themes and issues for discussion may include, but are definitely not limited to:
~ Historical, philosophical, ethical and religious perspectives on the erotic
~ Local, national, international and global perspectives on the erotic
~ Politics and/of the erotic
~ Economics and the commercialization of eroticism
~ Space, place and eroticism (including virtual spaces and places)
~ Legal/criminal implications of the erotic
~ Clinical/medical perspectives
~ The eroticism of death
~ Performances of the erotic
~ Victims and exploitation
~ Erotic encounters with the non-human: inanimate objects, sex dolls and erotic robots
~ The erotic imagination: literature, art, sculpture, photography, music, theatre, cinema, television, body art, selfies
~ The erotic and education
~ The erotic and identity: disability, ethnicity, race, gender, class and otherness
~ The eroticized, and de-eroticized body
~ Perversion and the erotic
~ Sexual identity and representation
~ Erotic relationships: romance, desire, arousal, excitement
~ Erotic behaviours: fetishism, fantasy and role playing
~ Psychology of the erotic
~ The erotic in popular culture and counter-culture

What to Send
The aim of this inclusive interdisciplinary conference and collaborative networking event is to bring people together and encourage creative conversations in the context of a variety of formats: papers, seminars, workshops, storytelling, performances, poster presentations, panels, q&a’s, round-tables etc. Please feel free to put forward proposals that you think will get the message across, in whatever form.

300 word proposals, presentations, abstracts and other forms of contribution and participation should be submitted by Friday 4th October 2019. Other forms of participation should be discussed in advance with the Organising Chairs.

All submissions will be minimally double reviewed, under anonymous (blind) conditions, by a global panel drawn from members of the Project Team and the Advisory Board. In practice our procedures usually entail that by the time a proposal is accepted, it will have been minimally triple and quadruple reviewed.

You will be notified of the panel’s decision by Friday 18th October 2019.

If your submission is accepted for the conference, a full draft of your contribution should be submitted by Friday 17th January 2020.

Abstracts and proposals may be in Word, PDF, RTF or Notepad formats with the following information and in this order:
a) author(s), b) affiliation as you would like it to appear in the programme, c) email address, d) title of proposal, e) type of proposal e.g. paper presentation, workshop, panel, film, performance, etc, f) body of proposal, g) up to 10 keywords.

E-mails should be entitled: The Erotic 2

Where to Send
Abstracts should be submitted simultaneously to the Organising Chair and the Project Administrator:

Teresa Cutler-Broyles: teresa@progressiveconnexions.net
Len Capuli (Project Administrator): pragueerotic2@progressiveconnexions.net

What’s so Special About a Progressive Connexions Conference?
A fresh, friendly, dynamic format – at Progressive Connexions we are dedicated to breaking away from the stuffy, old-fashion conference formats, where endless presentations are read aloud off PowerPoints. We work to bring you an interactive format, where exchange of experience and information is alternated with captivating workshops, engaging debates and round tables, time set aside for getting to know each other and for discussing common future projects and initiatives, all in a warm, relaxed, egalitarian atmosphere.

A chance to network with international professionals – the beauty of our interdisciplinary events is that they bring together professionals from all over the world and from various fields of activity, all joined together by a shared passion. Not only will the exchange of experience, knowledge and stories be extremely valuable in itself, but we seek to create lasting, ever-growing communities around our projects, which will become a valuable resource for those belonging to them.

A chance to be part of constructing change – There is only one thing we love as much as promoting knowledge: promoting real, lasting social change by encouraging our participants to take collective action, under whichever form is most suited to their needs and expertise (policy proposals, measuring instruments, research projects, educational materials, etc.) We will support all such actions in the aftermath of the event as well, providing a platform for further discussions, advice from the experts on our Project Advisory Team and various other tools and intellectual resources, as needed.

An opportunity to discuss things that matter to you – Our events are not only about discussing how things work in the respective field, but also about how people work in that field – what are the struggles, problems and solutions professionals have found in their line of work, what are the areas where better communication among specialists is needed and how the interdisciplinary approach can help bridge those gaps and help provide answers to questions from specific areas of activity.

An unforgettable experience – When participating in a Progressive Connexions event, there is a good chance you will make some long-time friends. Our group sizes are intimate, our venues are comfortable and relaxing and our event locations are suited to the history and culture of the event.

Ethos
Progressive Connexions believes it is a mark of personal courtesy and professional respect to your colleagues that all delegates should attend for the full duration of the meeting. If you are unable to make this commitment, please do not submit an abstract or proposal for presentation.

Please note: Progressive Connexions is a not-for-profit network and we are not in a position to be able to assist with conference travel or subsistence, nor can we offer discounts off published rates and fees.

Please send all enquiries to: pragueerotic2@progressiveconnexions.net

For further details and information please see the conference web page:
http://www.progressiveconnexions.net/interdisciplinary-projects/gender-and-sexualities/the-erotic/conferences/

Sponsored by: Progressive Connexions