Call for Papers — Lost in Reverie

DEADLINE EXTENDED UNTIL JANUARY 17TH, 2021

The History of Art Students’ Association (HASA) at the University of Toronto is pleased to open the call for papers for our Eighth Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium!

The theme of this year’s symposium is “Lost in Reverie”.

Step foot into my Reverie, detach from the present and drift into my internal direction.

To be lost in a daydream is one of the simple pleasures in life; drifting out of external reality, one can surround oneself in a personalized fantasy, a momentary instance of bliss or adventure. Silent contemplations about the deepest of philosophical questions occur within these moments of Reverie. Here, one finds the answers to that which is questioned, and the questions to that which is already answered. Artists have a unique ability to express these thoughts; whether through paint or sculpture, form or absence thereof, artists create universes in which we can become lost. In many ways, art provides a temporary escape in which we can hope for a better future, explore our darkest desires, and indulge in clandestine affairs. This year’s theme encourages exploration into how art allows us to make sense of our present world, by embracing fantasy.

Submissions can broadly consider thematic relations across time and art historical movements, individual art movements, or focus on particular artworks and/or artists and their style and form. One might draw upon movements such as Dada, Surrealism, Romanticism, or Impressionism for inspiration: the works of Dali, Höch, Bosch, and Kahlo may evoke feelings of the fantastical, spiritual, and oneiric. Reverie can also provide an important means of self-expression and catharsis for marginalized individuals, or those struggling with mental illness or adapting to a changing reality; examples include the works of Goya or Van Gogh, who translated their most intimate feelings and thoughts to canvas.

Reverie is experienced by all, but it is artists who are able to pull another into theirs; Monet places you within his inner world of dazzling gardens and ponds. Similarly, Magritte pulls us into his imaginative and dreamlike imagination. Spanning periods and movements, many artists have chosen to represent that which is not or cannot be found within the realm of our world, and instead only found within the realm of their own minds—Lost in Reverie.

Questions to consider: Where have artistic inspirations of the otherworldly come from? What role does religion and/or mythology play in symbolically influencing the human psyche? How do artists so aptly represent their thoughts and feelings? How are contemporary artists echoing or evolving that of the surreal and fantastical?

Our hopes for this theme are to explore broad artistic representations of “Reverie”, whatever form they may take, and, perhaps, consider our own spiritual relations to one another. We invite the submission of papers that explore topics relating to this theme. Ideas may include:

• Spirituality, mythology, religion, and divinity
• Exploration of the subconscious
• The fantastical and the spectacular
• Ideas of daydream, daze, hallucination, and imagination
• Thematic relations between artists, movements, and periods
• Insight into the mind of the artist
• Explorations of life, meaning, and purpose
• Contemporary, modern, or classical representations of fantasy
• Reality versus the ideal, utopian, or other-worldly
• Philosophical questions pertaining to the human identity and human condition

This symposium aims to create a supportive environment in which undergraduate art historians can challenge their fields of interest and explore research as a community. We ask for papers that show a high degree of independent thinking and that may discuss any period in the art-historical timeline. We welcome papers that take religious and/or historical approaches just as much as those that explore the theme in a literal and/or a postmodern framework.

Submission Requirements:

We invite papers ranging from approximately 1,500–2,500 words (not including footnotes and bibliography) on an issue related to the symposium theme. Longer papers can be considered on a case by case basis. Papers can be excerpts from larger works or separate independent pieces but must have a strong thesis and be well supported with primary and secondary material. Papers will be published in Chicago style, so it is strongly encouraged that your submission conforms to this from the beginning. Interested students must submit their full paper and include a brief abstract (max. 250 words) to this form (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe6O8DGSge67iKPInq-lBBt8wjEYNBB5DGdb0Y5MobqRoSxpA/viewform) by 11:59 pm on Monday, January 17, 2022.

On your title page, you should include your name, institution, year of study, paper’s title (or working title), course or supervisor, the grade received (optional), and approximate length of the paper, followed by your abstract. Everything should be in a single attachment as a document or pdf file. Our final selection of papers will be decided by Sunday, January 23, 2022.

At the present moment, this symposium will be hosted in person on Friday, March 11, 2022. This is subject to change due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. If you do not reasonably expect to be able to present at the symposium on this date, please refrain from submitting.

We will be distributing hard copies of the published journal in addition to the open-access Ebook available for download. A full program will be available and emailed to the speakers once decisions have been finalized. It will also be posted on our website: https://arthistoryutoronto.wixsite.com/hasa.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to connect with us at hasa.uoft@gmail.com.