Calls for Papers - Discussion Groups
Age Studies
Gendered Age & Authority in Popular MediaCollaborative session on shifting popular-media representations of women across the age spectrum in public roles. Proposals (250 words) by 15 March 2013; Elizabeth Gregory (egregory@uh.edu)
Posted 16 February 2013
Vulnerable Times in Academic Life
Senior faculty are viewed as invulnerable, deadwood, on twilight cruises, or sage scholars/mentors. What does--and should--"senior" mean in academia? Can senior status increase workplace vulnerability? 250-word proposals by 15 March 2013; Michelle A. Massé (mmasse@lsu.edu)
Posted 21 February 2013
Anglo-Irish Literature
Transatlantic IrelandProposals (250 words) are invited on the transatlantic in any period(s) of Irish literature; possible topics include migration, travel, circulation of texts, and geography/geopolitics. Proposals (250 words) by 15 March 2013; Julia M. Wright (julia.wright@dal.ca)
Posted 8 February 2013
Arthurian Literature
Continental ArthurSeeking papers discussing the role of Arthurian motives in literature on the continent, especially the Low Countries, German-speaking lands, and Scandinavia. Co-sponsor: Arthurian Literature Discussion group. One-page CV, abstract by 13 March 2013; Niklaus Largier (nlargier@berkeley.edu) and Randy Schiff (rpschiff@buffalo.edu)
Posted 18 February 2013
Navigating Arthurian Waterways: Of Literary Lakes, Rivers, and Oceans
The Arthurian Literature Discussion Group seeks papers that explore the significance of water within Arthurian texts. 300-500 word abstracts by 1 March 2013; Randy P. Schiff (rpschiff@buffalo.edu)
Posted 12 January 2013
Bibliography and Textual Studies
Destruction and RevitalizationWe seek proposals for papers that involve questions of textual and cultural destruction and revitalization, in any period or context. 250-word abstracts. by 15 March 2013; Matt Cohen (matt.cohen@mail.utexas.edu)
Posted 17 February 2013
Early American Networks of Writing and the Politics of Writing Instruction
Seeking new research on the politics of early American rhetoric and writing instruction networks. 250-word abstracts by 15 March 2013; Shevaun Watson (watsonse@uwec.edu)
Posted 17 February 2013
Canadian Literature in English
Indigeneity and Diaspora: Exploring Intersections Through Canadian LiteratureHow has Canadian literature refracted questions of alliance and difference between Indigenous and diasporic subjects? Proposals of no more than 400 words. by 1 March 2013; Pauline Wakeham (pwakeham@uwo.ca)
Posted 4 November 2012
Catalan Language and Literature
Representing Passion Narratives in Medieval Iberian Languages: Mirroring or Conflicting Versions of Affective Piety?Papers devoted to the cross-disciplinary and cross-linguistic study of Iberian Passion texts. A 250-word abstract and two-page CV by 15 March 2013; Montserrat Piera (mpiera01@temple.edu)
Posted 17 February 2013
The Vulnerability of Catalan Studies as a Discipline
Papers that analyze challenges that Catalan Studies as a professional discipline has experienced (past and present). 400-word abstract and 2-page CV by 15 March 2013; Montserrat Piera (mpiera01@temple.edu)
Posted 17 February 2013
Celtic Languages and Literatures
Explorations in Celtic Languages and LiteraturesAny aspect of Celtic languages, literatures, or cultures - including history, archaeology, linguistics, music, religion, folklore, art history, anthropology, or gender studies. 250-word electronic abstracts by 15 March 2013; Charlene M. Eska (ceska@vt.edu)
Posted 13 February 2013
Comics and Graphic Narratives
Collaboration in ComicsThe verbal-visual form of comics offers unique opportunities for collaboration. We invite critical perspectives on the advantages, constraints, and effects of collaboration in comics. Abstracts by 8 March 2013; Charles Hatfield (charles.hatfield@csun.edu )
Posted 11 February 2013
Fine Arts and Comics
Papers on the historical relationship, and interconnection between the form of comics and the art world. Chicago connections, e.g. The Hairy Who, welcome. Abstracts by 8 March 2013; Hillary L. Chute (chute@uchicago.edu)
Posted 11 February 2013
Transnational Comics
Comics have long been the visual and textual testament to global interaction. We invite papers that explore the transnational contexts that comics offer, imitate, and critique. Abstracts by 8 March 2013; Nhora Serrano (Nhora.Serrano@csulb.edu)
Posted 11 February 2013
Computer Studies in Language and Literature
DH from the Ground UpSee http://computerstudies.commons.mla.org/ for additional information. Email 150-word abstracts to aearhart@tamu.edu by 15 March 2013; Amy Earhart (aearhart@tamu.edu)
Posted 20 February 2013
Cuban and Cuban Diaspora Cultural Production
Cuba on StageWe seek papers on any facet of Cuban or Cuban Diaspora theater or other performing arts and its critical resonance for aesthetics, culture, politics, or everyday life. 300-word abstracts by 15 March 2013; Vicky Unruh (kunruh@ku.edu)
Posted 5 February 2013
Folklore and Literature
Singing Out in the American Literary ExperienceProposals are sought concerning the use of folk song (blues, jazz, country, etc.) within American Literature of any genre or period. 350 word abstracts by 10 March 2013; Mark Allan Jackson (mark.jackson@mtsu.edu)
Posted 8 February 2013
General Linguistics
Linguistics Applied to Teach and Learn Middle-Eastern or Eastern Mediterranean LanguagesPaper proposals sought showing linguistics applied for teaching and learning a Middle-Eastern or Eastern Mediterranean language in North America. 250-word abstract by 15 March 2013; Terrence Potter (tmp28@georgetown.edu)
Posted 18 February 2013, last updated 22 February 2013
Germanic Philology
Germanic Linguistics and PhilologyPapers addressing any aspect of Germanic Linguistics and Philology. All presenters must be registered MLA members by the time of the convention. 250-word proposals by 15 March 2013; Stephen Mark Carey (smcarey@morris.umn.edu)
Posted , last updated 27 February 2013
Hebrew Literature
Gender in Hebrew Literature and CultureThis panel invites papers on Israeli texts in order to understand gender politics, including queer and feminist readings, in Hebrew letters. Please submit 250 word abstract. by 17 March 2013; Rachel S. Harris (rsharris@illinois.edu)
Posted 25 February 2013
Hungarian Literature
Hungarian Film at Home and BeyondWe invite presentation proposals (250 words) discussing any aspects of Hungarian film, acting, directing, and cinematography in Hungary and beyond. Comparative perspectives welcomed. 250-word abstracts by 15 March 2013; Adriana Varga (avarga@umail.iu.edu)
Posted 20 February 2013
Literature and the Arts
We invite comparative presentation proposals (250 words) exploring interconnections between literature, language, music, painting, photography and the other arts in Hungarian, Romanian, and World Literature. 250-word abstracts by 15 March 2013; Adriana Varga (avarga@umail.iu.edu)
Posted 20 February 2013
World Travelers: Travel Writing in Hungary and Beyond
We invite presentation proposals (250 words) exploring Hungarian travel writing; travel writing about Hungary; the construction of alterity, exile, and exoticism in travel writing. by 15 March 2013; Adriana Varga (avarga@umail.iu.edu) and Zsuzsanna Varga (Zsuzsanna.Varga@glasgow.ac.uk)
Posted 20 February 2013
Interdisciplinary Approaches to Culture and Society
Women's Education in Third World CountriesLiterary, legal, political, economic or social implications of and current theories and developments on women's right to education in developing and under-developed countries/regions. Abstracts and vita by 15 March 2013; Shirin E. Edwin (see001@shsu.edu)
Posted 15 January 2013
Italian American Literature
Comparative Mediterranean American LiteraturesPapers on works by Americans of Mediterranean origins (Anatolian, Levantine, Maghrebi, Southern European, etc.) exploring questions of bioregional, ethnoracial, and national affiliation and disaffiliation. Abstracts (<300 words) by 18 March 2013; Jim Cocola (jcocola@wpi.edu)
Posted 14 January 2013
My Place or Yours: The Geographies of Italian American Literature
Roundtable on Italian American literature as situated in urban, suburban, rural spaces; transatlantic, transnational perspectives; academic, institutional, pedagogical contexts. Abstracts (<300 words) by 18 March 2013; Jim Cocola (jcocola@wpi.edu)
Posted 9 January 2013
Jewish American Literature
Digital Jews: Literature, Apps, Internet Mediations, ArchivingRoundtable exploring the impact of digital media on Jewish American writing, writers, and literature collections. Pedagogy also welcome. Abstracts (<300 words) by 15 March 2013; Laurence D. Roth (roth@susqu.edu)
Posted 22 January 2013
Jewish American or Jewish Americas?
Papers examining/expanding the location of “America” in Jewish American literary study to include the Caribbean, Central/South America, or Canada. Abstracts (<300 words) by 15 March 2013; Laurence D. Roth (roth@susqu.edu)
Posted 22 January 2013, last updated 11 February 2013
Jewish Monsters
Notions of monstrosity or the monstrous in Jewish tradition and in representations of Jews. Potential issues: containment/contagion, normality, pathology, inclusion/exclusion, ritual, heresy, health/disease. Abstract of 250 words or less by 15 March 2013; Garrett Eisler (gbe2@nyu.edu)
Posted 20 February 2013
Jewish Cultural Studies
Jewish MonstersNotions of monstrosity or the monstrous in Jewish tradition and in representations of Jews. Potential issues: containment/contagion, health/disease, inclusion/exclusion, ritual, heresy, normality, pathology. Abstract of 250 words or less by 15 March 2013; Garrett Eisler (gbe2@nyu.edu)
Posted 20 February 2013
Zionisms Past, Present, and Future
The Zionist imagination in global literatures and cultures. Potential topics: pre- or proto-Zionist texts, Christian Zionism, post-Zionism, Israel and its others. Abstract, 250 words maximum by 10 March 2013; Garrett Eisler (gbe2@nyu.edu)
Posted 18 February 2013
Law as Literature
Criminal Justice and the Literary ImaginationConnections between criminal justice and imaginative writing. How do texts represent, affirm, and/or challenge legal conceptions of crime or punishment? 500-word abstracts and brief CV by 15 March 2013; Jay Paul Gates (jgates@jjay.cuny.edu)
Posted 20 February 2013
Media, Justice and Revolution in the Middle East
How are media being used in the contemporary Middle East to challenge unjust governance and demand/define just governance? 300-word abstracts by 1 March 2013; Jay Paul Gates (jgates@jjay.cuny.edu) and Amy Motlagh (amotlagh@aucegypt.edu)
Posted 17 February 2013
Old English Law and Literature
How do these fields illuminate social and political developments, or conceptions of self and the community? Why is interdisciplinarity important? 300-word abstracts by 1 March 2013; Samantha Zacher (sz66@cornell.edu) and Jay Paul Gates (jgates@jjay.cuny.edu)
Posted 17 February 2013
Libraries and Research in Languages and Literatures
Meeting Where Students Are: Faculty-Library Collaborations and Undergraduate ResearchSeeking best-practices, methods, activities or lessons-learned using research as a medium for collaborative teaching and learning involving faculty and librarians. http://wp.me/p29LID-1x. 300-word abstracts by 5 March 2013; Bob Kieft (kieft@oxy.edu)
Posted 14 February 2013
Literature of the United States in Languages Other Than English
Multiethnic Texts in TranslationTheoretical/pedagogical approaches to the role of translation in multiethnic/multilingual studies. Time period and genre open; transnational texts welcome. Brief abstract (500 words max) and brief CV (2pp m by 10 March 2013; Montse Feu (montsefeu@gmail.com)
Posted 4 January 2013
Lusophone Literatures and Cultures outside Portugal and Brazil
A Tribute to Russell HamiltonPanel discussion of the latest developments in the field. Papers circulated before the convention; presentations limited to ten minutes. 250 word abstracts by 8 March 2013; Ana Paula Ferreira (apferrei@umn.edu)
Posted 2 January 2013, last updated 9 January 2013
Media and Literature
Literary Social Media, Past and PresentRelationships between social media (broadly conceived) and literary history, including networks of production / dissemination as mediated in any genre / period. 300 word abstracts. by 15 March 2013; Jeremy Douglass (jeremydouglass@english.ucsb.edu)
Posted 21 February 2013, last updated 12 March 2013
Mexican Cultural and Literary Studies
Disability Discourses in Latin America: Academy and ActivismRoundtable exploring current issues and discourses in disability studies in LA. 6-7 minute position papers identifying areas of research, activism. 200-word abstract and CV by 1 March 2013; Beth Jorgensen (beth.jorgensen@rochester.edu) and Susan Antebi (susan.antebi@utoronto.ca)
Posted 13 January 2013
The Legacies of Carlos Fuentes: A Roundtable Discussion
This round table seeks to explore the literary, cultural and political significance of Carlos Fuentes’oeuvre. 300-word abstract and bio. by 14 March 2013; Juan Carlos Ramírez-Pimienta (jcramire@rohan.sdsu.edu)
Posted 13 January 2013
Mexican Studies and the Return of the PRI: A roundtable
Seven-minute position papers concerning the impact on our methodologies and paradigms of the PRI’s return to power. 200-word abstracts and bio by 1 March 2013; Ignacio Sanchez-Prado (isanchez@artsci.wustl.edu)
Posted 13 January 2013
Netherlandic Language and Literature
Language and Culture of the Low CountriesOpen topic on the language/culture of the Low Countries. Presentations treating the presidential theme Vulnerable Times especially welcome. Abtracts up to 500 words by 17 March 2013; Wijnie De Groot (wed23@columbia.edu) and Thomas F. Shannon (tshannon@berkeley.edu)
Posted 20 February 2013
Opera as a Literary and Dramatic Form
Opera and AntiquityMonteverdi, Gluck, early Mozart, Rossini, Strauss, Schoenberg, Henze, Glass... Papers on the persistence of themes from European, Biblical, and other antiquities in libretto, composition, and performance. 500-word abstracts by 7 March 2013; Marshall J. Brown (mbrown@u.washington.edu)
Posted 31 January 2013
Part-Time Faculty Members
Defining the Moment, Defining the MomentumPerspectives on the language used to describe employment status. Short, focused presentations that examine distinct frameworks of definition, institutional integration, and resistance. Short roundtable presentation ideas. by 15 March 2013; Margaret Hanzimanolis (hanzimanolism@fhda.edu)
Posted 15 February 2013
Present-Day English Language
Dialects of English WorldwideThe Discussion Group on Present-Day English seeks proposals on English language topics including: "Dialect" or "Variety?" Teaching multilingual/multidialectal speakers Dialect prejudice Dialect features in understudied areas. Abstracts of 500 words by 13 March 2013; Elizabeth Bell Canon (canon_eb@yahoo.com) and Jennifer Santos (jennifer.m.santos@gmail.com)
Posted 13 February 2013
Provençal Language and Literature
Translating the TroubadoursFrom early French ‘adaptations’ to Pound, one of the modes of reception of troubadour poetry has been translation. Proposals on linguistic and/or cultural translation from any period. Abstracts, 250-500w. by 15 March 2013; Eliza Zingesser (ez222@cam.ac.uk)
Posted 9 January 2013
Puerto Rican Literature and Culture
Puerto Rican Crime NarrativesWe seek papers examining any aspect of Puerto Rican crime narratives (noir, hard-boiled, true crime, etc), on any genre (fiction, film, graphic novels, and/or popular music). 300-word abstracts by 15 March 2013; Jason Cortés (jasoncor@andromeda.rutgers.edu)
Posted 10 February 2013
Romance Literary Relations
UntranslatabilityHow do writers, intellectuals, or artists advocate or refute the untranslatability of a word, idea, or concept? Submit an abstract with a maximum of 250 words. by 15 March 2013; Gerard Aching (gla23@cornell.edu) and Guillermina de Ferrari (gdeferrari@wisc.edu)
Posted 27 January 2013
Romanian Studies
East European Women's Tales of RelocationRecent changes in narrative patterns in oral/written/visual, conventional/unconventional postcommunist tales of East European women’s migration and mobility in the global age. short bio and abstract by 15 March 2013; Maria-Sabina Draga Alexandru (sabina.draga@americanstudies.ro)
Posted 11 February 2013
Literature and the Arts
We invite comparative presentation proposals exploring interconnections between literature, language, music, painting, photography and the other arts in Romanian, Hungarian, and World Literature. 250-word abstracts by 15 March 2013; Adriana Varga (avarga@umail.iu.edu)
Posted 20 February 2013, last updated 31 March 2013
State-Sponsored Voyeurism and Surveillance
Panel/roundtable seeks to investigate approaches to secret police surveillance and/or informant files from former East Bloc countries. one-page abstract and bio by 15 March 2013; Valentina N. Glajar (glajar@txstate.edu)
Posted 14 January 2013
Scandinavian Languages and Literatures
Invisible Violences in the NorthHow does the prominence of violence in Nordic literature, film, and society challenge the Nordic countries' reputation for peace, environmentalism, welfare, equality, and general happiness? 250-word abstract by 15 March 2013; Leonardo Lisi (leonardo.lisi@jhu.edu)
Posted 16 January 2013
Science Fiction and Utopian and Fantastic Literature
New Approaches to Science Fiction CriticismThis panel will explore intersections between science fiction criticism and emergent realisms in the humanities (affect theory, digital humanities, surface reading etc). 250 word abstracts, CV by 8 March 2013; Rebekah Sheldon (sheldonr@uwm.edu)
Posted 15 January 2013
Scottish Literature
Independent Thinking: Scotland's Inscription of SeparationDoes possible independence inflect—or open a space for—literature? Discussion group welcomes considerations of Scottish and comparative moments of political independence. 200 word proposals (and vitae) by 7 March 2013; Matthew Wickman (Matthew_Wickman@byu.edu)
Posted 11 December 2012
Sephardic Studies
The Sephardic MemoirHow have Sephardic authors used the memoir to interpret their lives and the world around them? How have they varied over time? Send a 300 word abstract to bonwass@yahoo.com by 17 March 2013; Bonnie S. Wasserman (bonwass@yahoo.com)
Posted 21 February 2013
Slavic Literatures and Cultures
Soviet Cinema and Western Film TheoryThis panel examines how Soviet films influenced film theory philosophy in the West, and how those theories have subsequently changed our view of Soviet cinema. Abstracts by 15 March 2013; David L. Cooper (dlcoop@illinois.edu)
Posted 12 February 2013
WWI and the Poetics of Slavic Memory
The significance of the outbreak of WWI cannot be overestimated. This panel confronts the variety of cultural and aesthetic approaches to memorializing this moment. Abstracts by 15 March 2013; David L. Cooper (dlcoop@illinois.edu)
Posted 12 February 2013
South Asian Languages and Literatures
Everyday Unrecognized Sexual Violence in South AsiaWe invite critiques on representations of sexual violence against marginalized groups in South Asian literature, film, and/ or media. 200 word abstract by 15 March 2013; Namrata Mitra (nmitra@jcu.edu))
Posted 20 February 2013
The Sacred and the Sexual in South Asian Literature
Interrogations of gender and the construction of sexuality in relation to diverse religious traditions of South Asia. 250 word abstract. by 15 March 2013; Indrani Mitra (mitra@msmary.edu)
Posted 1 February 2013
South Asian Diasporas beyond the US
Presenters will explore the intersections, parallels, and tensions between South Asian and other groups outside the US, including Australia, Africa, and South East Asia. 200-word abstract by 15 March 2013; Moumin Quazi (quazi@tarleton.edu) and Indrani Mitra (mitra@msmary.edu)
Posted 1 February 2013
Southern Literature
Southern ChildhoodsThe Southern Literature Discussion Group is organizing a panel on representations of southern childhood. We welcome proposals on texts in any historical period and medium. 300-word abstracts and vitas by 15 March 2013; Coleman Hutchison (coleman.hutchison@mail.utexas.edu)
Posted 17 February 2013, last updated 21 February 2013
Translation
Technologies of TranslationWe seek presentations that introduce experiments in the Digital Humanities relying on translation: What insights might these examples offer to Translation Studies and/or to Digital Humanities? 250-word abstract by 10 March 2013; Michael Emmerich (emmerich@eastasian.ucsb.edu)
Posted 21 January 2013
Thinking Fanlation
Papers that explore the theoretical or political ramifications of fanlation, scanlation, fansubbing, or other forms of unauthorized and/or crowdsourced translation in a global media context. 250-word abstract by 10 March 2013; Michael Emmerich (emmerich@eastasian.ucsb.edu)
Posted 17 January 2013
Travel Literature
Travel Literature and the Environment19th- to 21st-century travel literature and representations of the physical environment; the natural world; ecocritical approaches; and/or animal encounters. 250-500-word proposals by 5 March 2013; Jeanne Dubino (dubinoja@appstate.edu)
Posted 20 January 2013
The Two-Year College
21st Century PedagogiesBrief presentations that explore alternative teaching approaches, innovative pedagogy, and English or Foreign language classroom best practices departing from the traditional instructional model. Stacey Donohue sdonohue@cocc.edu. 250 word abstracts by 15 March 2013; Stacey Lee Donohue (sdonohue@cocc.edu)
Posted 17 January 2013
Teaching Sustainability
Presentations that explore the teaching of sustainability in English and Foreign Languages, including place-based and project-based approaches to teaching in the environmental humanities. 250-word abstracts by 15 March 2013; Falk Cammin (camminfalk@fhda.edu)
Posted 22 January 2013
West Asian Languages and Literatures
Apocalyptic Voices in West Asian CultureThis panel tracks apocalyptic narratives of West Asian intellectuals as they confronted modernity and its postmodern aftermath, an encounter manifesting a fatalistic imagination of civilization's end. by 15 March 2013; Stephen Sheehi (sheehi@sc.edu) and Jason Mohaghegh (jmohaghegh@njcu.edu)
Posted 6 February 2013
Language, Colonialism, and the State in Nineteenth Century Southwest Asia
Resistance, co-optation or disciplining? How does language act under the violence of colonialism and state formation in 19th century Southwest Asia? by 15 March 2013; Stephen Sheehi (sheehi@sc.edu)
Posted 6 February 2013
The Revolution's Memory
We welcome proposals that consider how memoirs write and form narratives about contemporary revolutionary movements and moments in West Asia? West Asia Language and Literature Discussion Group by 15 March 2013; Stephen Sheehi (sheehi@sc.edu)
Posted 6 February 2013
Yiddish Literature
Yiddish ConnectionsWe seek papers connecting Yiddish with other cultures, literatures, or traditions through acts of imagination and resistance. Varied approaches (text analysis, literary history, and translation) welcome. Abstracts. <300 words by 15 March 2013; Kathryn Ann Hellerstein (khellers@sas.upenn.edu)
Posted 11 February 2013