(De)Constructing 4C(s) (Con)ference T(it)les: Attending CCCC again for the first time

And now for the personal challenge. Sarah threw down the gauntlet in regard to my claim that I could write a poem completely from Postmodern CCCC 2008 conference titles.� (Yes, in one broad sweep I’m lumping Postmodern and Deconstructionist et al thought into one binary basket.� Mercy!)

In truth, I think such titles are on the wane at CCCC. When I attended 15 years ago, I could swear that every other one paren(the)sized or bracketiz[ed] something of por[ten]tious (Un)Meaning (but I’m not going to support the accuracy of my memory; for this exercise, gut feeling is enough). derridaOf over 600 scheduled sessions this year, I only found about 20 PoMo/DeCons. Also, of those 20, not one used []s (parenthesis ascending). How (Dis)appointing. I and Jacques Derrida de(rid)e a (de)clining down(turn).

My rule was to use only words or phases appearing in conference titles. I wimp(ed) out on my original goal to write a sonnet, but I offer it anyway as a monument to mean(ing)less/ful[ness].

Derrida’s Gift

(re)Defining Community
Reclaiming the (Con)Textual Product
(Re)claiming the Literacy Agenda
Facebook
Reasearch(ing) Spaces
(Re)Building Reality
Reinterpreting and (Re)inscribing Bodily (Un)Realities
Fundamentalism
(Re)Charting the (Dis)Courses of
Discourse(s)
Aliens, (Ex)Gays, and Lesbians
Call(ing) and Response(ding) to
Changing Realities
(Re)presenting Hidden Realities
(Re)Writing Political Landscapes
Writing Real(ities)
(Re)Writing the Realities of
New Orleans

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1 Response to (De)Constructing 4C(s) (Con)ference T(it)les: Attending CCCC again for the first time

  1. sarah says:

    My favorite is the response(ding)s.

    I tried to read the link on Derrida and my head wouldn’t accept the content as English. My translator is clearly broken.

    You did well using only conference words. I also like the (dis)courses of discourse(s). Somehow, Facebook slaps the reader and reminds us that the old terminology is so well-used as to be worn.

    Success!

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