From Monadism to Nomadism: 

A Hybrid Approach to Cultural Productions

First Annual Interdisciplinary Humanities Graduate Student Conference

University of California, Merced

April 12-13, 2013

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Keynote Speaker

Al Young (San Jose State University and Davidson College)

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“From Monadism to Nomadism: An Hybrid Approach to Cultural Productions” focused on the intersection and interplay of cultural studies, the social sciences and the humanities, and encouraged the exploration of various theoretical frameworks, case studies, fieldwork and research.

By juxtaposing issues such as intercultural negotiation, trans-(post)modern society, migratory aesthetics, diverse understandings within liquid societies and symbolic struggle, this conference provided a venue to explore the post-(de)colonial dilemmas created by the reinvention and promotion of culture as a coherent and diverse reality.

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The aim of the conference was to facilitate the innovative scholarship of graduate students across the nation and the globe by providing opportunities for them to share academic work, receive scholarly feedback and network professionally. The event also facilitated the integration of faculty members, promising scholars and colleagues in an interdepartmental 

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Keynote Speaker

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Al Young 

Lurie Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing, San Jose State University

McGee Professor of Writing, Davidson College

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Al Young is an American poet, novelist, essayist, screenwriter, and professor. On May 15, 2005 he was named Poet Laureate of California. His collections of poetry are "Dancing: Poems" (1969), "The Song Turning Back Into Itself" (1971), "The Blues Don’t Change: New and Selected Poems" (1982), "Heaven: Collected Poems 1956–1990" (1992), "The Sound of Dreams Remembered: Poems 1990–2000" (2001), "Coastal Nights and Inland Afternoons: Poems 2001–2006" (2006) and "Something About the Blues: An Unlikely Collection of Poetry" (2008).

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Young was a Jones lecturer in creative writing at Stanford University from 1969 to 1979. Since then, he has taught at a number of universities, among them Bowling Green State University, UC Santa Cruz, the University of Washington and Rice University. He was appointed the 2002 Lurie Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing at San José State University and McGee Professor of Writing at Davidson College in 2003.

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