Often portrayed onstage by early modern playwrights, banishment
and its attendant figures of the outcast, the exile and the
pharmakos, pose a number of issues involving early modern
geopolitics, as well as cultural and religious differences.
Banishment was one traditional manner of proclaming differences
and affirming or defending national, religious or political
identities. Elsewhere in Europe, banishment remained a common
practice and punishment, notably during the Reformation and
Counter-Reformation. Many were banished or exiled, fleeing
persecution. Some of these exiles wrote about their banishment,
others proclaimed their belonging to the world, others still,
were effectively silenced. Proposals will discuss political,
religious, literary, scientific, artistic or philosophical
issues related with banishment in the early modern era. Send
abstracts in French or English. Deadline for proposals (1/2 page
maximum): 20 May 2009 The conference will be held on 2 October
2009 at the University of Paris 10 at Nant