The U2 Conference meets April 26-27, 2013, in Cleveland, Ohio. We are planning for a pre-program event the evening of April 25, and a post-program event on the evening of the 27th.
For quick reference, we list here the Academic Sessions on the schedule. Our full schedule is here.
Session 1A (Academic): Cannibals and Thieves: Transforming Sound and Sense
Chair: Christopher Endrinal
- “From the Ground Up: A Post-Structuralist Account of U2’s Transformation in the Achtung Baby Era.” Veldon Coburn
- “Transmogrification and Transfiguration in ‘Another Time, Another Place’ and ‘Gloria.’” Paul Harris
- “Transcending Rock, Translating Dance, and Transforming Pop: U2 and Electronic Dance Music Aesthetics in the 1990s.” Ed Montano
Session 1C (Academic): “It’s No Secret”: The Process of Representation
Chair: Carol Burg
- “What You Don’t Have You Don’t Need It Now: How the World’s Most Iconic Band Got There Without a Logo.” Beth Nabi
- “She Cats and The Fly on the Wall: Transforming the Boy/Girls from Dublin in U2’s Achtung Baby.” William R. Upchurch
- “‘A Dangerous Idea That Almost Makes Sense’: Conceiving (Achtung) Baby When ‘Sensemaking’ Made Sense.’” Chris Wales
Session 2A (Academic): “We’re One, but We’re Not the Same”: Individuality In (and Beyond) the Band
Chair: TBD
- “The Edge as a Trans-Media Character in the Films of Davis Guggenheim.” Alfred B. Johnson
- “I Just Keep the Bottom End Moving: Adam Clayton’s Minimalist Bass Aesthetic.” Brian Wright
- “Bono & U2’s Transformation of Celebrity Social Activism Into Social Entrepreneurship and Social Justice.” Jennifer Schaefer
Session 2C (Academic): “Play the Blues”: Performing and Appropriating Blackness in U2’s Music
Chair: Ann Spinney
- “From ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’ to ‘Angel of Harlem’: Irishness, American Blackness, and U2’s Authentic Performativity.” Kimberly Mack
- “Race and Rattle and Hum 25 Years On.” Lauren Onkey
Session 2E: (Academic): “Window in the Skies”: The Transmission of Sacred Themes in U2’s Music
Chair: Michael Sullivan
- “May Your Dreams Be Realized: U2 and MLK’s Speeches.” Kristi York Wooten
- “Into the Half-Light: Ireland as An Archetypal ‘Thin’ Place.” Michael Sullivan
- “Mysterious Ways: U2 Fandom and Transformation.” Joshua Case
- “Elevation: God on Tour with U2.” Edwin Beckham
Session 3A (Academic): “Stateless”: U2’s Public and Private Spaces
Chair: Sam Lovato
- “’I Go There With You’: The Dimension of Place in U2’s Studio Recordings, Videos, and Concert Sites.” Joel Deichmann
- “Moment of Surrender: Shared Creation in the U2 Live Experience.” Matthew Hamilton
- “U2’s Transformation of the Daily Into the Sublime.” Carol Burg
Session 3C (Academic): “Take This Soul and Make it Sing”: Constructing Community
Chair: Tim Neufeld
- “Transgressing Theology: Locating Jesus in a ‘F—ed-Up World.’” Theodore Trost
- “A Communion of Transcendence: U2 and The Eucharist.” Kristen Pungitore and James Menkhaus
- “Have I Finally Found What I Was Looking For?: Charitably Reading U2 for Grace, Love, and Transcendence.” Christopher E. Garrett
Session 4A (Academic): “Got To Stand Up and Take a Step”: U2 in Praxis
Chair: William R. Upchurch
- “More Than Shopping Our Way to a Cure? The (Perceived) Transgressive Nature of the RED Campaign and Its Affect on U2’s Ethos as Justice Advocates.” Laurie Ann Britt-Smith
- “Bono’s Psalter.” Andrew Smith
- “Rock Star Realpolitik: U2’s Transgression?” Stuart Krusell
Session 4C (Academic): “Still Looking For The Face I Had Before the World Was Made”: Searching for the Authentic Self
Chair: Brian Wright
- “Out of the Transitory and Into the Transcendent: Finding Continued Relevancy for U2 and Its Fans.” Brigitte Harmon-Porter and Brian Porter
- “Tearing Down the Walls: U2 and the Irish Desire for Transcendence.” Arlan Hess