In the seventh edition of the Crossroads Graduate Student Conference in Comparative Literature, we aim to foreground indigeneity as a key theoretical framework for investigating and challenging systems of oppression and as an invaluable component of studies in literature, film, and other media. Indigeneity unsettles colonial mechanisms and intervenes in such contentious discourses as subjectivity, domination, and environmental collapse. By looking at indigeneities comparatively, the conference seeks to underline the intrinsic pluralism and inclusivity of such modes of thinking, to consider indigeneity as a series of non-systems rather than a monolith, and to bring to the forefront the possibility of vibrant solidarity. Given the generosity of the term and its vast theoretical capabilities, the topics may include:

• Narrative theory and conflict

• Environmental humanities

• Translating indigeneitites

• Resistance in literature, film, music

• Ontology and other ways of positing the subject

• Queerness and indigeneity

• Political satire and irony

• Trauma and its repercussions

• Histories of settler colonialism

• Transgressions of the marginal

• Neoliberalism as domination

We also welcome contributions in the general fields of comparative literature, cultural studies, and critical theory.

Please submit an abstract of no more than 300 words to umassogscl@gmail.com by February 9th, 2024. Abstracts must include full name, contact information, institutional affiliation, and a short bio.

Participants will be notified of their acceptance by the middle of February, 2024.