Call for Essay Proposals for Teaching American Proletarian Literature

For the Options for Teaching series, the Publications Committee has approved development of Teaching American Proletarian Literature, edited by Janet Galligani Casey. Intended to showcase a wide variety of theorizations and perspectives, this volume will probe the meaning of the term proletarianism and suggest ways that the term might be imagined capaciously in the context of undergraduate literary studies. Consequently, this volume seeks both to address classic proletarian literature of the Depression era and to move beyond that framework by (1) suggesting alternative temporal and aesthetic parameters for proletarianism; (2) drawing connections between an acknowledged proletarian canon and other literary movements or categories, such as the Harlem Renaissance, high modernism, or middlebrow culture; and (3) reconsidering the definitional boundaries and significations of such terms as communism, radicalism, and class. Especially welcome are proposals on the left's contributions to literatures of race and ethnicity and proposals that establish a transnational context. Two-page abstracts are requested by 15 December 2009, though the editor is happy to discuss potential topics in advance. Please send proposals and all other inquiries to Janet Galligani Casey, Skidmore Coll., 815 North Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 (jcasey@skidmore.edu).