The Southern Writers/Southern Writing Conference (SW/SW) is an interdisciplinary graduate student event hosted by the University of Mississippi from July 16-18, 2020. 

The term “y’all” is ubiquitous within the southern imaginary. While “y’all” frequently evokes paternalism and regional stereotypes, it has recently been reclaimed as a guiding principle for inclusivity across identities. For this year’s SW/SW Graduate Conference, we want to use “y’all” as an invitation to interrogate the essentialism that may lurk in the title “Southern Writers/Southern Writing,” and ponder the intersections of regionalism, inclusion, and activism in literary and cultural studies. We welcome abstracts for papers, panels, and creative works that consider and interrogate the various forms of southern experience and expression across time, space, and region. 

Possible topics include:

• Intersections of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, ability, class, and identity
• Space, place, and geography
• Speculative narratives, including Afrofuturism and indigenous futurities 
• Ecocriticism and animal studies 
• Travel narratives and the southern landscape
• Gothic and the “grotesque”
• Folklore and foodways 
• Religion, sociology, ethnography 
• Media and popular culture, such as film, television, music, podcasts, etc.
• Archival research, such as letters, diaries, periodicals, and material culture 
• Labor, commerce, and capital 

Southern Writers/Southern Writing seeks to foster a multi-disciplinary environment, featuring graduate students with an interest in the US or Global South from departments across the humanities and social sciences. We welcome creative submissions, including poetry, short stories, novel excerpts, photography, or short films. Campus and community activists are also encouraged to share their organizing efforts through presentations or roundtable submissions. 

Please submit a 200-250-word abstract of a critical work or up to 500 words for pre-formed panels. For creative submissions, we ask that you please upload the work in its entirety. 

To apply, complete our submission form: https://forms.gle/3XeZ9SLPcpuhjeMH9.

Successful applicants will be notified by mid-May. For more information, please visit swswgradconference.org

The deadline for submissions is April 19, 2020.