CFP: AGLSP Conference - due May 1

Association of Graduate Liberal Studies Programs (AGLSP)

20ll ANNUAL CONFERENCE
CALL FOR PAPERS/PRESENTATIONS

Source of Life and Strife: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Water
October 13‐15, 2011, Saratoga Springs, New York

Hosted by the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies Program, Skidmore College
As one of the elements necessary to sustain life, water has played and continues to play a
paramount role in human existence. Artists—from painters to writers to dancers—have
drawn on images of water or its lack for inspiration. Native Americans of the Southwest
did rain dances to end droughts. Classical mythology abounds with figures associated with
water.

Waterfalls from Niagara to Iguazú to Yosemite to Victoria Falls inspire awe. Fountains
adorn our major cities, imitating the natural phenomenon of geysers. Wishing wells reveal
our innermost desires and fears, and rainbows are associated with good luck, pots of gold,
and covenants with the Deity.

Cities first arose along the banks of rivers or the shores of seas because of easy
communication and commerce. Canals, like the Suez, the Panama, and the Erie, have
facilitated travel, and dams provide hydroelectric power. Mineral baths and drinking water
from springs have created vacation sites and health spas. Glaciers and icebergs capture our
attention, as do clouds and fog.

Yet water has also served as an issue of conflict or has caused devastating cataclysms, as
Hurricane Katrina or the flooding in Pakistan so pointedly illustrate. In our contemporary
world, global climate change, acid rain, the overuse of fertilizers, seepage from refuse and
animal waste, industrial waste, oil spills, and human negligence all threaten the clean water
supply and thus imperil the existence of all living things.
Wars have been fought to secure access to fresh water or to shipping from seaports. The
British built an empire on their dominance of the sea, defeating other nations and gaining
access to faraway cultures and natural resources.

By bringing together voices from various disciplines, presenters at this conference will
highlight the harmony and dissonance inherent in water. Papers should be 20 minutes long
and presented, rather than read, to conference attendees. Please submit a 1‐2 page abstract
electronically to Sandy Welter at Skidmore College (swelter@skidmore.edu) by May 1. Be
sure to write "AGLSP Submission" in the subject line.