McGill University, English Graduate Student Association’s Annual Conference

April 6-7, 2024, Montréal QC (EXTENDED DEADLINE)

“Change is the immediate responsibility of each of us, wherever and however we are standing,

in whatever arena we choose.”

–Audre Lorde (“Learning from the 60s”)

The English Graduate Student Association of McGill invites proposal submissions of academic

papers on the topic of “Metamorphosis” for its’ 2024 annual conference.

A term commonly associated with biological processes, mythical transformations, and uncannily

large insects, “metamorphosis” may refer to many kinds of change, whether physical, formal,

structural, spiritual, political, supernatural, or otherwise. The idea of metamorphosis has inspired

many literary works since antiquity, most famously Ovid’s Metamorphoses and Kafka’s

Metamorphosis. It is a central force in many literary genres, from the Bildungsroman to science

fiction, to eco-poetry and climate fiction; furthermore, it is through metamorphosis that literary

genres, eras, and canons emerge and grow. Metamorphosis – which evokes ideas of

transformation, renewal, conversion, evolution, revolution, and more – is essential not only

across literary genres and canons, but also across academic fields, and even (especially!) in our

own lives. We hope that scholars from many disciplines will gather to discuss this topic in the

coming springtime, that customary season of renewal.

Papers may address, but are not limited to, the following topics

Narratives of transformation (in literature, philosophy, history, etc.)

- Transformation in systems of thought

- Ecocriticism and environmental studies

- Political change and renewal

- Postcolonial perspectives on change

- The metamorphoses of plants and insects

- Human/animal/nonhuman evolutions, hybridities, and futures

- The Bildungsroman

- Mythical transformation

- Childhood and growth

- Gender and identity

- Genre and canon development

Please submit a 150-word abstract and up to 100-word biographical note (including academic

research and background) to egsa.metamorphosis@gmail.com by December 30, 2023