religion

Chapter proposals are invited for a new interdisciplinary and transnational volume focusing on the social and cultural contexts of vegetarianism throughout history. This volume will represent the first scholarly collection of essays that critically considers vegetarianism as both a worldwide phenomena and an aspect of the longue durée of history, and seeks to explain vegetarianism as a global, social, and historical continuity. Taken as a whole, the essays will provide an answer as to how and why vegetarianism has been a constant throughout human history despite continuous social challenges.

The Subculture Area of the MPCA/MACA requests 150-250 word proposals for papers to be presented at the 2016 Midwest Popular Culture Association Conference. Proposals for co-authored papers, complete panels (3-4 presenters), or nontraditional formats such as workshops, roundtables, open forums, and/or visual/artistic/creative approaches are also welcomed. All proposals must be submitted by April 30, 2016 via online submission: http://submissions.mpcaaca.org/.

This is a renewed call for papers for a special issue of the Canadian Review of American Studies

In keeping with the conference theme "Border States," the Religion and Literature permanent section invites papers on writers and texts which challenge, question, or reimagine the borderlands between religion/spirituality and secular life. Papers might consider questions such as: How do race, ethnicity, gender, and/or sexuality shape the religious imagination (or vice versa)? How do writers belonging to religious minorities address cultural hegemony? How do these writers counter the perceived threats they pose to the dominant social/political culture? How does a writer/character negotiate the relationship between aspects of her spiritual and secular lives? How do religious and spiritual concerns shape the formal choices that writers make?

In the spirit of this year's conference theme of "Border States," we welcome papers that explore borders—or the blurring of such borders--within Science and Fiction. How does fiction work to educate us as readers on the use of technology? Are these examples historically, culturally, or socially relevant? Suggested topics may include:

* Women in Science Fiction
* Images of science in literature
* Energy resources in literature
* The image of the scientific utopia
* Science and progress
* The human body and/or its representation
* Representations of the apocalypse, dystopias, or other disasters in literature