How does one distinguish illusion from reality? How do our evolving perceptions of the world around us affect our understanding of self and the human condition? Is disillusion a necessary evil, or an essential part of this understanding as it leads to new possibilities for development and discovery?

This symposium aims to explore the interrelationship between illusion and disillusion in all their various forms and the role they play in the perpetually symbiotic contact between art and human experience.

We invite abstracts in English of between 200-250 words that touch or enlarge upon possible topics not limited to:

• Migration
• Identity
• Gender
• Tricksters
• Memory and Narrative
• (Pipe)Dreams, Visions or Reveries
• Costumes and Disguise
• Politics
• Propaganda and the Media
• Satire and Parody
• Utopia and Dystopia
• The Supernatural

Papers will be limited to 20 minutes and must be presented in English. In your abstract, please include your name, email address, academic affiliation, and AV requests.

Keynote Speaker: Prof. Russ Castronovo, Jean Wall Bennet Professor of English and American Studies at University of Wisconsin-Madison

Hilary Heffley
Carlo Annelli
Graduate Association of French & Italian Students
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Department of French & Italian
gafis2013@gmail.com