Description: The avant-garde, it would seem, is dead. From the widespread commercial appropriation of avant-gardist provocations to the growing consensus that the avant-garde is a racist construction, criticisms of the very concept of the avant-garde abound. Panelists demonstrate the avant-garde’s continued relevance by offering new definitions, critiques, histories, and explorations of the concept of the avant-garde for literary studies now.

Speakers

Ama Bemma Adwetewa-Badu, Cornell U

Christopher Chen, U of California, Santa Cruz

Alexandra Gold, Harvard U

Jamal Russell, U of California, Santa Barbara

Timothy Yu, U of Wisconsin, Madison

Presider

Rachel Greenwald Smith, St. Louis U