The notion of apocalypse - of a human history directed towards a dramatic, violent, and divinely imposed end - has been central to western conceptions of time and history since late antiquity. And while most in the west have long since ceased to read the Book of Revelation literally, images and ideas from the Bible's final book continue to permeate western literature. This relationship between apocalypse and literature has implicitly challenged our understanding of the meaning of endings. We are interested in papers that explore the attraction of apocalypse for writers and the relationship between the idea of historical endings and narrative closure. We thus welcome studies devoted to any historical period from the Christian Middle Ages to the post-modern in which the apocalyptic is treated. We also welcome studies in postcolonial, Asian, and African cultures that contest or otherwise explore the western conception of the Apocalypse. Some possible topics include:

• the revival of the apocalyptic in the second half of the twentieth century (e.g. in cold-war portrayals of nuclear holocaust)
• a consideration of the lingering influence of the apocalyptic: why is it that the rejection of the biblical apocalypse has not resulted in a more complete break, or ending, with the idea of a total ending?
• what does apocalypse mean in terms of historical development and movement? Do writers who continue to employ the notion of apocalypse think in terms of Hegelian notions of history?
• biblical and non-biblical notions of apocalypse

Send abstracts (with a brief CV) or enquiries to:

Stan Benfell or George Handley

Brigham Young University
Humanities, Classics, and Comparative Literature
3010 JKHB
Provo, UT 84602

or, by e-mail, to Stanley_Benfell@byu.edu (Stanley_Benfell@byu.edu) or George_Handley@byu.edu (George_Handley@byu.edu)