cfp.english.upenn.edu

CFP: *Macbeth* (5/23; abstracts for proposed volume of essays in est. series)

11 May 2004

I am seeking abstracts to include in an initial proposal for an edited volume on *Macbeth.* Should my proposal be accepted, the book will constitute part of an established series of critical essays on individual works by Shakespeare, several of which have already been published and enjoy wide distribution. I have the backing of the general editor of the series for this proposal. The deadline for submission of abstracts is 23 May.

Abstracts should be 200-300 words -- no longer -- and may concern virtually any aspect of the play and its contexts, as indicated below. A single author may submit multiple abstracts, in the hope that one may be accepted. Authors of abstracts that are accepted at this stage should expect to submit drafts of their complete essays by early September.

The scope of this volume, as I envision it, will incorporate not only the gamut of historicist and materialist approaches, but also formal, poetic and intertextual perspectives, perform
ance criticism and performance history (with special attention to recent productions), and innovative angles on familiar questions about topicality, authorial intention and response. Other subjects of particular interest include the play's literary influence, and its global cultural presence in various media. (Illustrations, in black and white, will be welcome enhancements to the final product.) Submissions that advance strong general claims, either about the significance of the whole play or about currently controversial questions in Shakespearean criticism, will be considered favorably. This is not to exclude consideration of abstracts that promise to build incrementally (but substantially) on well-established lines of interpretation.

The submission of an abstract implies no final commitment to the project -- apart from a good-faith commitment to work with the editor and to meet deadlines in a timely manner, especially over the next several months, should the abstract
be accepted and the author choose to pursue the possibility of publication. Similarly, acceptance of an abstract for inclusion in this book proposal implies only the editor's good-faith commitment to work with the potential contributor in a conscientious manner, toward the goal of producing a final draft that fulfills the promise of the abstract. Inclusion of an abstract in the proposal at this stage will not necessarily imply the editor's final commitment to the publication of the completed essay.

I expect to report back to all prospective contributors within one week of the deadline for submission of abstracts.

Please enclose abstracts within the text of an e-mail message (NOT in an attachment) and submit them by Sunday, May 23 to both of the following e-mail addresses. (Feel free to leave abstracts anonymous, so long as I can count on your receiving my reply to the e-mail address from which the submission is sent, or to another e-mail address as indicated in the submis
sion.)
nrm_at_gwu.edu
nrm4_at_georgetown.edu

The deadline for abstracts may be extended, and this listing re-posted, pending consideration of those abstracts that I receive by 23 May.

Thanks for your time, your attention, your interest, and your abstracts!

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Received on Fri May 14 2004 - 01:23:23 EDT