cfp.english.upenn.edu

Conference Theme: “SINGING THEIR SONGS IN A STRANGE LAND: The Impact of Exile on Diasporan Writers”

Keynote speaker: Dr. M’bare N’gom, authority on Equatorial Guinean writers and chair of the Foreign Languages Department at Morgan State University

To acknowledge and celebrate the artistic contributions of Diasporan writers, the Departments of English and Foreign Languages, History, and Interdisciplinary Studies as well as the Honors College invite proposals for papers to be delivered Thursday, October 22 and Friday, October 23, 2009.

Topics could pertain to the concept, events, and impact of exile, either external or internal, as each relates to diasporanism, estrangement, alienation, otherness, assimilation, transnational migration or other issues. Areas to explore include, but are not limited to, the following:

Psychological, legal, socio-cultural: age, race, religion, gender, sexuality, geography,etc.

Socioeconomic: income, education, social class, etc.
Technological : computers, phones, infrastructure, transportation, etc.

The concept of exile from the Equatorial Guinean or other perspectives

Language as it relates to alienation and estrangement, the “other,” censorship, pariahs, etc.

Linguistic approaches to exile literature and discourses on alienation

Cultural/Historical exile as reflected in fiction or nonfiction

Abstracts of 250-300 words should be submitted by Friday, August 14, 2009. For submission details and additional information, see the conference Website: http://sola.nsu.edu/enfl/lfc.htm. Prospective presenters will be notified no later than September 30, 2009. Selected papers will be considered for publication.