Brecht unter Fremden/Brecht Among Strangers

16. Symposium of the International Brecht Society (IBS)

June 19 23, 2019 Leipzig, Germany

CALL FOR PAPERS

Organized by the International Brecht Society (IBS) and the Centre of Competence for Theatre (CCT) at Leipzig University in cooperation with the Institute for Theatre Studies at Leipzig University and Schauspiel Leipzig

Bertolt Brecht was confronted with the alien throughout his life. He was exposed to it everywhere he lived, and in all venues he inhabited, he was as a stranger among strangers. Furthermore, he made the experience of the alien into the linchpin of his entire artistic project. His plays, prose, and poetry, as well as the texts he wrote about theater and the other arts, about politics and society, tell us that the experience of being alien is the precondition for the possibility of a future community among strangers. more relevant now than ever in an era when, on a daily basis, fear and hatred of foreigners continue to demonstrate a fundamental inability to live among strangers even (or especially) in a period of increasing globalization and of societies affected by migra- tion. The overarching goal of the symposium BRECHT UNTER FREMDEN/BRECHT AMONG STRANGERS is to make a contribution to cosmopolitan conviviality: living together as a stranger among strangers.

General information about the symposium
Performances, keynotes, workshops, and roundtables. In addition to the four thematic sections, the symposium will address the contemporary significance and relevance of theater work with and after Brecht via a variety of keynote addresses by leading figures, as well as in multiple workshops and roundtables featuring theater practitioners and other experts. In addition, a large number of theatrical performances, scenic presentations, and lecture performances by artists from Leipzig and around the world will form an integral part of the symposium. We will make continual updates about the symposium program on our website www.brechtunterfremden.org.
Symposium fee and additional costs. There will be a symposium fee of 140 euros per participant. Students will pay a reduced fee of 65 euros. Non-student participants who register and pay their fees by January 31, 2019 will receive a discount of 40 euros off the regular rate and thus pay 100 euros.
Travel and room and board costs must be covered by participants themselves. The symposium orga- nizers will try to negotiate reduced-rate hotel prices as well as an affordable ticket system for reduced- price lunches and dinners for participants. Information about such costs will be available in advance of the symposium via email and at the website www.brechtunterfremden.org.
In the event of an invitation to participate in the symposium, the organizers would be happy to support participants who wish to apply to their home universities or other funding agencies for support in covering travel and other participation costs.
Publication. Following the conclusion of the symposium, the organizers plan to publish selected contri- butions in the Brecht Yearbook or in the IBS journal e-cibs (=electronic communications of the interna- tional brecht society). Joining the IBS is not a requirement for participation in the symposium BRECHT UNTER FREMDEN / BRECHT AMONG STRANGERS. However, only members of the IBS will receive a free copy of the Brecht Yearbook, which will include the proceedings of the Leipzig symposium. Further details about the work of the International Brecht Society and its publications, about membership benefits as well as about previous IBS symposia, can be found at the website www.brechtsociety.org.