H-Announce

ACLA 2021: Bored to Death: What do we talk about when we

talk about boredom?
Announcement published by Busra Copuroglu on Wednesday, October 14, 2020
Type:
Call for Papers
Date:
October 31, 2020
Subject Fields:
Literature, Philosophy, Composition & Rhetoric

What is boredom and why do we feel bored? Recently, research on boredom has gained momentum in
the scientific community, particularly in neuroscience and clinical psychology, where the symptoms
of boredom and the behavioral patterns of the bored person are scrutinized (i.e. Boredomlab).
Boredom, however, has been explored by philosophers for centuries and making a persistent
appearance in the modern novel from nineteenth and century to present, in the moments of
contemplation, waiting, idleness or complaints of bored characters. The state of boredom is gradual
in onset, but “discursive significations” (Sianne Ngai) of boredom are sudden, explosive and precise,
usually revealing a set of negative emotions in a particular mode of language, namely, complaint.
Complaints of bored figures, evoking a sense of displeasure, reflect a moment of becoming aware of
their mood and a desire to escape boredom. Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler says she has “only got a
gift for one thing in the world” and that is boring herself to death; Charles Dickens’ well-known bored
lady, Lady Dedlock is known for being “bored to death” in her routine; Gertrude Stein on account of
feeling bored, decides to leave medicine and launches her literary career. On another front, Robert
Walser in Jacob von Gunten asks whether we can even talk about boredom as long as there is always
something to do.Martin Heidegger says boredom is a problem of time; for Schopenhauer it is one of
the two foes of human happiness (The Essays); in L’Ennui Emile Tardieu claims that “all human
activity is shown to be a vain attempt to escape from boredom;” for Benjamin, “boredom is the dream
bird that hatches the egg of experience,” (“The Storyteller”); in Pensées Pascal ranks boredom with
pain; Elizabeth S. Goodstein, in her seminal book Experience without Qualities: Boredom and
Modernity (2005), characterizes boredom as “the experience without qualities” and argues that
boredom is “the plague of the enlightened subject.”

What do we talk about when we talk about boredom and what does boredom tell us? This panel
invites papers that examine the state of boredom and bored characters in literature. Interdisciplinary
approaches are encouraged. Suggested topics include but are not limited to:

Gestures of boredom

Idleness

Citation: Busra Copuroglu. ACLA 2021: Bored to Death: What do we talk about when we talk about boredom? . H-Announce.
10-14-2020.
https://networks.h-net.org/node/73374/announcements/6577642/acla-2021-bored-death-what-do-we-talk-about-when-we-talk-about
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

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Complaint

Rhetoric of boredom

Affect and Boredom

Boarding school diaries

Value of time and boredom

Attention / Distraction

Tone of language in boredom

Refusal and resignation

Desire for desire in boredom

Please submit your paper abstracts through the ACLA submission portal by October 31, 2020. For
questions, please contact Busra Copuroglu at bcopurog@uwo.ca

https://acla.secure-platform.com/a/solicitations/2/sessiongallery

Contact Info:

Busra Copuroglu

bcopurog@uwo.ca

London, ON, Canada

Contact Email:
bcopurog@uwo.ca
URL:
https://acla.secure-platform.com/a/solicitations/2/sessiongallery

Citation: Busra Copuroglu. ACLA 2021: Bored to Death: What do we talk about when we talk about boredom? . H-Announce.
10-14-2020.
https://networks.h-net.org/node/73374/announcements/6577642/acla-2021-bored-death-what-do-we-talk-about-when-we-talk-about
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.