Publishing Opportunity

ISSUE ON “WASTE” – IOWA JOURNAL OF CULTURAL STUDIES
“As the capitalist mode of production extends, so also does the utilization of the refuse left
behind by production and consumption. Under the heading of production we have the waste
products of industry and agriculture, under that of consumption we have both the
excrement produced by man’s natural metabolism and the form in which useful articles
survive after use has been made of them.” Marx, Capital, vol. 3 (195)
As Marx’s provocative definition suggests, multiple forms of waste appear in capitalism’s
uneven development. In this issue of the Iowa Journal of Cultural Studies, we seek essays
that examine the functions and constructions of waste in a variety of socio-political milieus
and cultural locations. What is waste and how is it produced, dealt with and understood?
What are the survivals of production and consumption? In a modern context, what becomes
of the category of waste in post-Fordist production and under the hegemonic regime of
immaterial labor? How does the growth of the world market affect the geography of waste?
We are looking for an array of interpretations of waste, of capitalism’s refuse, from the fields
of history, anthropology and ethnography, literary studies, film and the visual arts,
communications and media studies, and, of course, cultural studies.
This call is not limited to interests of any century or geographic location.
Areas of interest include:
- Post-Marxism
- Subaltern and post-colonial studies
- The recycling and/or repurposing of culture
- Literature
- Film
- Philosophy
- Visual art
- Ecology
- Waste Management / Recycling
Please submit three (3) printed copies and one electronic copy by September 1, 2008 to the
Iowa Journal of Cultural Studies, English Department, 308 English-Philosophy Building,
University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242. Please contact Joshua Gooch at Joshua-
Gooch@uiowa.edu if you have any questions. We prefer essays no longer than 9,000 words,
MLA format. Please keep discursive endnotes to a minimum.
The Iowa Journal of Cultural Studies is a peer-reviewed publication edited by graduate
students that mixes traditional approaches and contemporary interventions in the
interdisciplinary humanities and interpretive social sciences. Visit the website at
http://www.uiowa.edu/~ijcs/.