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From the Call for Papers:

Serious Fun: Expressions of Play in the History of Art and Architecture
The 32nd Annual Boston University Graduate Symposium on the History of Art and Architecture
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 26–27 February 2016

Proposals due by 21 November 2015

In all of its forms, play is a vital expressive force. Whether theatrical or athletic, rollicking or subversive, play has enacted a pivotal role in shaping cultural life. The 32nd Annual Boston University Graduate Student Symposium on the History of Art and Architecture invites submissions that consider aspects of play as form, content, process, and methodological framework.

Possible subjects include, but are not limited to:
• representations of play
• entertainment, games, and toys
• spaces of play, leisure, and recreation
• play as practice
• political control of play
• play as dissent or activism
• word play
• the naughty and the bawdy
• revelry and whimsy
• play and performance
• play as creative force

We welcome submissions from graduate students at all stages of their studies, working in any area or discipline. Please send an abstract (300 words or less), paper title, and a CV to the Symposium Coordinator, Catherine O’Reilly, at bugraduatesymposiumhaa@gmail.com. The deadline for submissions is Saturday, November 21, 2015. Selected speakers will be notified before January 1, 2016. Papers should be 20 minutes in length and will be followed by a question and answer session.

The Symposium will be held Friday, February 26 – Saturday, February 27, 2016, with a keynote lecture (TBD) on Friday evening at the Boston University Art Gallery at the Stone Gallery and graduate presentations on Saturday in the Riley Seminar Room of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

This event is generously sponsored by The Boston University Center for the Humanities; the Boston University Department of History of Art & Architecture; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Boston University Graduate Student History of Art & Architecture Association; and the Boston University Art Gallery at the Stone Gallery.