Bodies and Performance
Fleshy futurities: Embodied yearning, resistance and grief
Given that the destructive futurities of the broligarchy hinge on transcendence, whether bodily or planetary, we suggest that there is an urgent need to ground questions of futurity, yearning and beyondness in a commitment to a fleshy embodiment and placehood. Recognising that New Materialist and post-human thought parallel millennia of often-uncited indigenous epistemology (Zoe Todd, 2016), and often neglect the embodied realities of racialisation (Zakiyyah Iman Jackson, 2015), we are cautious regarding claims to the ‘beyond’, nevertheless, given that the present moment is increasingly intolerable for many, we are curious about future imaginaries, grief and desire. Resonating with bell hook’s concept of yearning as an activist methodology (hooks, 1990), fleshy futurities asks how the terrain of the body might become a space of self-determination, resistance and possibility. With the conceptualisation of fleshy futurities, we acknowledge the legacy of Afrofuturism in the reclamation of embodied experience and rejection of oppressive systems to imagine new possibilities, recognising, as Audre Lorde reminds us, that ‘the master's tools will never dismantle the master's house’ (Lorde, 1984). We invite you to play in a space of uncertainty, strangeness, speculation, and maybe even hope towards the future. Dress code: sci-fi realness.
Themes and frameworks we are interested in exploring further include but are not limited to: alternative future imaginaries; queer futurities (José Esteban Muñoz, 2009); afrofuturism; queer inhumanism (Mel Y. Chen and Dana Luciano, 2015); the various pessimisms and optimisms; solarpunk; feminist abolitionism (Angela Y, Davis, Gina Dent, Erica R. Meiners, and Beth E. Richie, 2022); yearning and desire.
Preferences for Types of Proposal
In addition to proposals for 20 minute papers we invite alternative modes of presentation including practice sharings and developing and speculative 5-10 minute ‘drips’ and ‘dribbles’ of research. As always we welcome proposals in written, video or voice-note form, though if invited we will require an abstract of some sort for the conference programme.
Proposal Submission Process
Submit your proposals by using the Abstract and Proposal Submission Form on the conference website by 10 March 2025. Your abstract should be max. 300 words and should be accompanied by a bio of max. 150 words.
How the TaPRA Conference Works
Our conference has two types of sessions: whole group sessions for all delegates and parallel panels of papers, performances, and interventions streamed by “working group”. The working groups focus on specific research interests and disciplines and set their own themes for each conference. These themes are detailed in the calls for papers for each group (linked above). There is also an opportunity to exhibit practice research in the TaPRA Gallery, also linked above.
A complete list of our 13 working groups is available on the TaPRA website. Most delegates choose a working group that aligns with their interests and use this group as their base for the conference, attending most or all of their slots, as the working groups meet multiple times. These sessions host presentations from long-standing members and new colleagues. However, you can attend sessions hosted by any other working group throughout the conference. The programme also includes open panels where attendees are encouraged to visit working groups sessions other than their own.
To speak, present, or perform at TaPRA, you will need to identify your preferred working group and submit a proposal that speaks to their theme. You can apply to one working group only. On the Abstract and Proposal Submission Form you can also indicate that you are willing for your paper to be considered by other working groups.
Conference Environment
In addition to whole group sessions, working groups, and open panels, the TaPRA Gallery and publisher stalls are open for most of the conference, and there are social and networking events at various moments. These include the conference dinner, which is not to be missed. It will mark TaPRA’s 20th Birthday and will be held at Fargo Village in Coventry to celebrate the city’s music heritage. There will be Caribbean food, sets from a Two-Tone Band and dancing aplenty.
Access
The 2025 annual TaPRA conference will be a hybrid event, facilitating participation by online delegates alongside those attending in-person. Since our 2021 conference we have been able to experience benefits of online conferencing, such as increased opportunity for international presenters, lower financial costs to participate, and greater accessibility for those with caring responsibilities. The 2025 conference at Warwick aims to retain the wider opportunities for engagement that online platforms offer, whilst also maintaining a space for in-person engagement and social interaction.
Schedule
- Applicants will receive decisions on their proposals on 11 April 2025
- Conference registration and accommodation bookings opens 12 May 2025
- Early bird registration closes on 30 June 2025
- Presenter registration deadline is 18 July 2025
- General registration closes 12 August 2025
Bursaries
Each working group has one bursary available for postgraduate and early career researchers. The bursary includes free conference registration and £300 towards conference travel and accommodation, to be disbursed after the event on showing proof of spend. If you would like to be considered for a bursary, please tick the relevant box on the Abstract and Proposal Submission Form, when submitting your abstract.
Other Calls for Papers
You can view the CFPs for all other working groups using the links below:
Audience, Experience and Popular Practices
Performance and New Technologies
Performance, Identity and Community